The epitome of hillside Cabernet, our “Bolt of Cloth” from a single vineyard on the Mayacamas range just west of the Oakville AVA line, struggles. We picked the grapes at the optimal tannin ripeness when the fruit flavors were between red and black. They were delivered to the winery during the cool early morning hours. Once at the winery, we diligently sorted the individual clusters, then, destemmed the grapes prior to entry into French oak tanks where they fermented naturally. We performed either punch downs, pump-overs or rack-and-returns depending on the day to nurture the fermentation to completion. At which point we allowed the maceration to continue until we achieved the right balance in structure. We then gently pressed the wine to tank and transferred the free-run and light press wine to 70% new oak barrels to age for 22 months. The oak staves used to make our cabernet barrels are from the best forests in France and aged extra-long so that they are not too aggressive on the wine. We racked the wine o its sediment only once before it was bottled without fining or filtration.