Cakebread Cabernet Sauvignon 2019

The wine is a blend of grapes sourced from top vineyards throughout Napa Valley’s finest appellations. Fruit from multiple, diverse microclimates is used to craft a rich, yet elegant wine that marries the lush black fruit and sturdy tannins of the valley’s warmer northern districts with the bright fruit and crisp acidity of its cooler southern reaches. Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec are included in the blend to create a classic Bordeaux-style cépage showcasing the rich, ripe fruit flavors for which Napa Valley is renowned. This wine is a blend of dozens of different grape lots harvested, crushed, fermented and barrel-aged separately. Each lot is cold -soaked for 2 days before fermentation to enhance extraction of color and flavor. Tank size, yeast strain, fermentation temperature and barrel type are tailored to each lot's fruit character. Some of the wines undergo extended maceration (fermented wine stays on the skins for several weeks to extract flavor and soften tannins) while others are pressed off their skins immediately. Each lot is aged 6 months in French oak barrels, 35% new. After the lots are blended, the wine ages for an additional 12 months in barrel before bottling. The year began with substantial rainfall, which pushed back bud break, flowering and grape set by several weeks. After an unusually cool summer, late August heat spikes kick-started full ripening. In early September, cooler temperatures returned, which allowed the red varieties to hang on the vine an extra few weeks and develop ripe, concentrated flavors. Wonderfully fragrant, complex aromas of ripe blackberry and boysenberry fruit are augmented by complementary scents of loam, spice-box, dark chocolate and toasty oak. Beautifully balanced and richly textured on the palate, its concentrated black cherry, wild berry, cassis and mocha flavors are supported by supple tannins and extend into a long, chocolate finish. An excellent companion to beef, rich pork dishes and game.