Vintage: 2005 Appellation: Napa Valley Composition: 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot Bottle Sizes: 750 ml Bottle, 1.5 L Magnum, 3 L Double Magnum, 6 L Imperial Release Date: Saturday, February 6, 2010 750 ml Price: $100 Winemaker's Tasting Notes The 2005 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is a nuanced wine that illustrates the results of cool, gradual ripening and a deft balance of varietal components. It has a dark garnet color and a complex nose of boysenberry, truffles, wild game, soy, and black pepper. On the palate, the wine has a silky mouthfeel and an elegant, long finish with a slight tannic grip. With proper cellaring it should give drinking pleasure through 2032. Vintage Description The dominant themes for the 2005 harvest were a rare combination of high quality and quantity, and very homogeneous maturity. The growing season began with a rainy, late spring, providing a slow start to vine growth. Muddy conditions complicated our early spring tractor work and the exuberant growth kept us busy with suckering, but by mid-May, temperatures had warmed considerably for the crucial time of bloom. The long summer was moderate and veraison (the coloring and softening of the berries) started right on time in early August. The long, cool growing season was perfect for developing grapes with excellent intensity of flavors and the perfect bloom conditions in May guaranteed even ripening. We began harvest on September 22nd and brought in the last grapes on October 21st. It was a large harvest, but due to the even bloom and long, slow ripening, produced extraordinary wines. Blending and Aging Our 2005 Napa Valley, a blend of wine from vineyards throughout the appellation, is 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. We blended the vineyard lots in early 2006 and transferred the wine to 100% new American oak barrels for aging. Blending prior to barreling allows us to achieve a balance of the wine’s primary elements, such as fruit and tannin, before they are influenced by oak. The wine was then aged in barrel for approximately 25 months and another 20 months in bottle to harmonize its components before release. |