95/pts – Wine Advocate
The 2016 FORTIS opens with aromas of dark fruit, sweet oak, graphite, graham cracker, and macerated mixed berries and cherries. The entry is bright and leads to flavors of black cherry, licorice, licorice spice, dark chocolate, blueberries, and minerality. The fruit carries through layer upon layer, revealing depth and texture, and broadens across the palate with a cocoa powder texture and mocha flavor. We barrel age the wine in our winery’s caves to mature flavors and integrate plush, layered textures. This is a seamless wine with great finesse that will continue to age gracefully.
95/pts – Wine Advocate
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.
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.
The grapes were hand harvested at night, carefully sorted in the vineyard, and brought to the cellar and destemmed. The grapes received a cold soak, followed by fermentation at a high temperature to ensure maximum extraction was achieved. Then, the wine was racked to 100 percent new French Seguin Moreau Icône oak barrels, where it was aged for 27 months prior to bottling.
The 2015 FORTIS shows a classic Bordeaux nose with pencil lead, dark fruit aromas, plum, and earth. Elegant with rich fruit intensity expressing dark cherries, concentrated blackberry jam, mocha, espresso, and vanilla. An expansive palate leads to a long, ripe, polished finish. We barrel age the wine in our winery’s caves to mature flavors and integrate plush, layered textures. This is a seamless wine with great finesse that will continue to age gracefully.
For this special bottling, only the finest blocks of the most outstanding fruit are selected from our 47 acres of estate vineyards in the Stags Leap District. Each year there are a few blocks that stand out as stellar among the others. These blocks are designated for FORTIS.
Following several years of drought, February delivered much-needed rain to the vines. Budbreak occurred early in 2015 due to warmer than normal temperatures in late winter and early spring. Warm temperatures and abundant sunshine June through October led to good growth the rest of the season, an early harvest, and very high-quality, balanced fruit.
The grapes were hand harvested at night, carefully sorted in the vineyard, and brought to the cellar and destemmed. The grapes received a cold soak, followed by fermentation at a high temperature to ensure maximum extraction was achieved. Then, the wine was racked to 100 percent new French Seguin Moreau Icône oak barrels, where it was aged for 27 months prior to bottling.
