Eponymous is made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes grown at four distinctly different vineyard sites. Over 50% of the blend was sourced from a core vineyard on Mt. Veeder that I have been working with for almost 10 years. The remainder of the grapes came from Howell Mountain, Coombsville, and the benchlands of Atlas Peak.

The 2017 vintage blessed us with another very good growing season, with rain through mid-Spring, followed by a dry summer and fall with few heat spikes. As devastating as the fires were in Northern California in mid-October, more than 85% of the Cabernet grapes were picked before the fires, ours included. After picking, hand-harvested fruit was fermented with utmost care and the resulting wine was aged 20 months in 60% new oak (90% French and 10% American), with frequent racking the first year.

This wine shimmers with a stunning deep purple-inky color and exudes wonderful intensity and lovely complex notes as soon as the cork is pulled. Some of the bounties of aromas are ripe plums, blackberries, cassis, and hints of violets, toasted rosemary, and dark chocolate. The well-integrated fruit carries over to the palate, with wonderfully balanced structure and ample but supple tannins that lead to a long polished finish.