Acclaim

Frederic Koeppel, May, 2012: “If your ideal of a Napa Valley cabernet… embodies a marriage of elegance and power in its balance among a sleek, supple texture… this is the wine for you…”

Vineyards

The fruit for this vintage was chosen from several premier sites throughout the Napa Valley, mainly the Rutherford and Stags Leap District AVAs. The bright, ripe fruit and substantial mouthfeel that characterize this complex bottling are a direct result of the meticulous care and attention to detail paid by our vineyard workers to the vines.

Harvest & Winemaking

With steadily mild temperatures throughout the growing season, the 2009 vintage progressed very smoothly and the clusters ripened evenly. The fruit for this wine was harvested mid-September through late October and was thoroughly sorted in full cluster, and then by individual berry. Fermentation took place at a high temperature to ensure that maximum extraction was achieved before the wine was racked to 60% French and 40% American oak barrels, 50% of which were new. The wine was aged in barrel for a total of 18 months before bottling.