Vintage and Winemaking

To me, consistency of quality and full, sweet ripeness were the hallmarks of this vintage. Changes we have made in our vineyards over the last few years came to full fruition this year, resulting in some surprises--such as really dark, rich wines produced on soils that I once thought inappropriate for Cabernet. I attribute this success to several factors. New rootstocks and Cabernet clones we introduced in our replantings a few years ago have made a great debut. We also substantially increased vine density (over 4,000 vines per acre on some sites), which severely limited each vine's vigor and yield. Planting vines at this density was an educated guess, but the results were excellent: loose clusters of small berries with uniform, deep color and concentrated flavors.

The weather was our true ally in this vintage. High temperatures in summer generally averaged only in the eighties, then a golden September boosted the fruits maturation with average high temperatures just above 90 degrees F. This long, cool, even growing season allowed us to harvest the grapes at their eleventh hour, at perfect ripeness. In these conditions, the grapes ripened as fruit should, from the inside out, so that as we tasted the grapes in the vineyard to decide when to pick, we heard the crackling sound of mature seeds between our teeth as we tasted the lush fruit. We began harvest in the second week of September and--passing through each vineyard block at least twice to select the clusters--continued through October 25.

With grapes of this quality, our work in the winery was based on minimal intervention. We left the fermenting juice on its skins for a bit longer than usual because the grapes seemed capable of giving more and more color and tannins as we tasted the lots each morning and late afternoon. We selected the barrels--nearly 100-percent French oak for this vintage and about 50 percent new--from five coopers because we like the layered flavors that result from their different styles of cooperage. We aged the wines in barrel for 20 months before selecting and assembling the final blend. In this vintage, I also included a small amount of firm, extracted Merlot from Carneros for additional complexity.

This bottling includes Napa Valley fruit from our estate, other vineyards we farm and our long-time growers, in the following proportions: Cabernet Sauvignon: Rutherford, 29%; St. Helena,26%; Atlas Peak, 11%; Napa, 23%. Merlot: Carneros, 11%.

Chuck Wagner

TASTING NOTES

Dense, saturated dark ruby color. Dominant aromas of ripe black currants, black cherries and sweet berries, with subtler suggestions of brown spices, bittersweet cocoa and earth. In the mouth, bursting flavors of berry fruits/plums at their lush, high-summer ripeness, toasted spice and chocolate. Fine, fully mature tannins give the wine a satisfying grip--a textural element I love. The finish is long, rich and fruit-filled yet surprisingly supple for Cabernet at this level of extraction.

Release date: September 2004
Suggested retail price: $70