|
 |
||
2008 Textbook Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon "Mise en place", Oakville District, Napa Valley• Superbly mature and well-drained sites on east-side of Oakville District AVA, next door to Screaming Eagle, down the road from Rudd & Joseph Phelps' Backus Vineyard
Price: $49/bottle Shipping and handling included at no charge on 6+ bottles!
• ACCOLADES •2008 Vintage
91 POINTS - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, OUTSTANDING
2007 Vintage CELLAR SELECTION 91 POINTS - OUTSTANDING OUTSTANDING
2006 Vintage EXCELLENT & HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
2005 Vintage 91 points - OUTSTANDING 94 Points EXCELLENT! • Vintage 2008 •While the growing conditions in 2008 were very good, the one element that will be most remembered is the dearth of clusters and the very small size of these clusters. The vintage provided only 60% of normal rainfall and, combined with brutal frosts and then extreme heats, the vines were clobbered, leading to the very small crop. Yield/acre was 40% below normal, but the quality was very, very high. Over the summer it looked as though the season would be late, but a heat spell burned some growers who had removed too many leaves. We were quite patient, kept our canopy full and rode through the heat spike unfettered. The weather cooled in September and the grapes ripened beautifully. On October 9 and 14 we hand harvested small bunches in immaculate condition with excellent flavor and balanced acids. Our 2008 "Mise en Place" is crafted to be a delicious Oakville District Cabernet — ready to enjoy in the medium-term, with the knowledge that its depth, balance and subtlety will carry it for the long haul. • TWO REMARKABLE Vineyards •Our "Mise en place" Cabernet Sauvignon comes from two very special single vineyard sites located on the extreme eastern side of the Oakville District abutting the rugged and dry Vaca Mountain Range. This sub-section of the Oakville AVA is renowned for superb, richly-textured Cabernet Sauvignon and its terrain is characterized by steep hills which bask in warm, sunny afternoons offering an ideal growing environment. These vineyards soils profiles include gravelly alluvium (eroded off the nearby Vaca mountains) covered by shallow gravelly loam and in some places interspersed with large boulders. It is quite infertile and very well-drained. Planted in the early 1980's and 1990's these two sites clonal material includes heritage clones (likely from Beaulieu Block) as well as Clones 4 and 337. Exemplary sustainable farming practices are employed in these mature sites and after veraison we culled unevenly ripened bunches which reduced yield to less than 5 pounds per vine (@ 2.45 tons/acre), very low for the Oakville District. • Winemaking •Our Cabernet Sauvignon clusters were field sorted, hand-harvested and then hand-sorted at the winery at an average of 25.9 Brix and subsequently cold soaked for 4 days in open-top, temperature-controlled fermenters. Several daily punchdowns during fermentation kept the cap immersed in must and extracted superb flavor and structure. After nineteen days on their skins we gently pressed into French oak barriques where it slowly completed ML fermentation. Barrels were of the highest quality; 100% French, 55% new, three-year air dried, medium toast with toasted heads and handcrafted by Boutes, Francois Frères and Nadalié. Oakville Merlot from the westside foothills added mouthfeel and softness and completed the classic "Bordeaux Left Bank" blend profile. Twenty-two months maturation in barrel with four hand rackings and one egg white fining integrated flavors and developed its wonderful, balanced mouth-feel. Press fractions were not used. We bottled twelve barrels in early Summer 2010. It is called "Mise en place" to reflect the preparation and diligence exercised in the vineyards and winery. We believe it is a "textbook" example of this noble variety grown in this outstanding appellation. It can be enjoyed over the next decade. • Wine Facts • Regional Composition: 100% Oakville District Fact Sheet
|
Price: $49/bottle Shipping and handling included at no charge on 6+ bottles!
|
91 POINTS
"Glass-staining ruby. Pungent aromas of blackcurrant, cherry pit, vanillin oak and cured tobacco. Densely packed and energetic, offering sweet dark berry and cherry compote flavors and notes of vanilla bean, mocha and licorice. Picks up a smoky oak quality with air that lingers on the very long, precise finish. Concentrated, polished cabernet with the structure to age."
