1999 Cabernet Sauvignon

Recent Tasting Notes

Briar aromas, tobacco/earthy notes, dried cherries. Crisp, sweet fruit in the middle, mint, lively, hint of vanilla and smokiness.
 

Winemaker's Notes

Good Winter rains gave way to an even budbreak. The challenge came in April with several days of frost and hail; we were nervous farmers but survived without damage. We began harvesting the Cabernet on October 12 with the juice measuring:

To produce this Cabernet, we fermented the juice with the skins, pumping the juice from the bottom of the tank and sprinkling it over the skins. We continued “pumping over” through fermentation to insure thorough color and flavor extraction. Following the Bordeaux tradition of extended maceration, the wine stayed on the skins for another two weeks to soften the Cabernet tannins. We then drained the wine and pressed the skins. The first year of aging was in French (80%) and American (20%) oak barrels in our caves. During its first Winter, the wine underwent malolactic fermentation which lowered its acidity and added richness. In its second year, this Cabernet was aged in both oak barrels and tanks.

With this vintage of Cabernet, we produced two other Bordeaux grape varieties – Petit Verdot and Malbec intensify our wine’s color and add complexity to the midpalate. We made three barrels of each and after many blending trials decided to add both; the 1999 Cabernet is 1.5% Petit Verdot and 1.7% Malbec. Although they are difficult to discern, we believe their addition was successful because they added depth and richness to our wines. Bottled in August 2001, the wine had:

Dark garnet in color, the 1999 Cabernet opens with complex aromas of currants, cedar and spice that give the wine a rich structure. Its soft entry on the palate is intensified by dark chocolate and sweet vanilla flavors. Like its predecessors, the 1999 has the backbone from the fruit grown in our vineyard to allow it to mature and develop for at least an additional ten years.

February 2004