Nose
Pencil shavings, dark plum, coffee, hazelnut, bing cherry, and cinnamon graham cracker aromas jump from the glass.
Palate
The sweet, ripe entry reveals toasty oak and rich layered flavors mimicking the aromas. The fruit carries through to the finish, which is long, spicy, and brooding. This is an elegant wine to enjoy now or save and watch it develop further.
Growing Conditions
The Stags Leap District’s moderate temperature, influenced by the San Pablo Bay, leads to slow, even fruit development throughout the growing season. The majority of our 47 acres across four estate vineyards in this region are densely planted with Cabernet Sauvignon and other Bordeaux varieties on steeply terraced hillsides with Bale clay-loam soils, resulting in very low yields of intensely flavored grapes.
Harvest
The 2016 harvest marks the fifth great vintage in a row. Although it was another drought year and yields tended to be a bit lower, the quality was very high. The year started out hot, then became cold, then turned hot again, and October began one of the heaviest rain seasons this region has seen in many years.
Harvest Dates: SEPTEMBER TO OCTOBER
Winemaking
The berries were hand harvested at night, carefully sorted, and destemmed to tank, where fermentation took place.
Aging
Then, the wine was racked to 100 percent new French oak barrels, where it was aged for 27 months prior to bottling.