The 2016 growing season was cooler on average than the previous three vintages, with lower temperatures during the day and cooler nights. Although harvest started a week earlier than average, the weather remained stable throughout the growing season. No significant heat spikes took place during the ripening phase, yet fruit came in all at once over a two to three-week period. Overall, the 2016 Paul Hobbs Cabernet Sauvignon delivers optimal quality and an expressive fruit profile.

This wine was hand-harvested at night, using sheers only, and hand-sorted while still cold from the field. It was fermented in small, closed-top stainless steel tanks with indigenous yeasts after a 5-day cold soak, 28 total days in total maceration, with gentle pump-overs and délestage, and spontaneous malolactic fermentation in barrel, bottled unfined and unfiltered.

From its alluring deep garnet to its engaging aromas of wild blackberry, cocoa, and dried sage, the wine is endowed with refinement and definition by sourcing from first-rate sites within the region. A core of succulent dark plum and black currant envelope the palate with delineated accents of lavender, tobacco, and crushed graphite that hold through the long finish across fine-grained tannins and balanced acidity. Lovely with aged goat milk cheeses, Jamón Ibérico, or classic beef Bourguignon.