Deerfield Ranch
2007 Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon
California: Sonoma County
Mission Briefing
To Boldly Go
This wine was a big hit at our most recent tasting panel. Big on flavor, but elegant and soft on the palate, today’s 2007 Deerfield Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon is a very highly recommended wine.
Robert Rex has outdone himself with this wonderful Cabernet. Of course, he had some of the finest fruit - from one of the best vintages on record, the 2007 vintage. Robert Parker awarded this vintage a decade-high 96 points. We have been doing our best to bring you wines from this important vintage, and we scored big with today’s masterfully crafted blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 6% Malbec, 5% Cabernet Franc, and 4% Petit Verdot.
This is one to stock up on, dear Operative!
Tasting Profile
| Look: | Darkest burgundy hues with a slightly opaque core. At the edge, a fine ring of maroon encircles the glass. |
|---|---|
| Smell: | Very sweet on the nose, with aromas of blueberry and blackberry jam that give way to fresh cassis, lavender, fresh violets, slightly caramelized raisin and dried fall leaves. |
| Taste: | A silky smooth texture delivers flavors of sweet black cherry, blackberry compote, dark dried rose petal, dusty dark chocolate powder and a hint of black licorice. |
| Finish: | Exceptionally long with fruit flavors that linger especially long at the back of the palate. As flavors fade, the tip of the tongue becomes woody and slightly dry. |
| Pairing: | Pair this very flexible wine with a wide variety of foods, including roasted duck breast in a plum reduction sauce. A flourless chocolate cake would be an extraordinary treat at the end of the meal. |
What the Winery Says
The color is deep, dark and brilliant. The nose is true to Cabernet - grape skin, a bit of leather, very little earth. The taste boasts Caber- net, bold, with long linear strokes from front to back. The tannin is definitively Cabernet typical but without being obtrusive or dominant. The elements are harmonious and integrated. You have to look for the oak; it is so much a part of the whole experience. The Cabernet is modified upward by the Cabernet Franc with a tip of the hat to dark chocolate and espresso. The Merlot brings the Cabernet forward without revealing itself. It’s the same for the Malbec, adding to the back palate depth. The wine is dry yet gentle for a Cab. The alcohol adds a kick without any heat and is well balanced by the fruit.
- ABV
- 13.4
About the Winery
Deerfield Ranch Winery, in Kenwood, the heart of Sonoma Valley, is an award winning, certified organic producer, crafting 15,000 cases annually. Winemaker Robert Rex, associate winemaker, Cecilia Valdivia and their team, make small lots of handcrafted wine from more than 26 carefully selected vineyards in Sonoma County.
Specializing in blended wines, Deerfield is at the forefront of this modern, yet traditionally based style and on the cutting edge of California winemaking techniques.
Deerfield wines are renowned for their brilliant colors, rich and wonderfully complex flavors and a long finish. They tend to be fruit forward, with gentle tannins and low acid. The wines are crafted to appeal to the new, younger wine drinker while exhibiting complexity and depth that a studied connoisseur will recognize and enjoy.
Winemaker Robert Rex
Robert Rex is a “Renaissance man” possessing a great palate and an exceptional talent for winemaking. He is a chemist, graphic designer, woodworker, and an accomplished gourmet cook.
Robert’s winemaking style has its roots in the great French wines of Bordeaux and Burgundy. He believes that the blending of attributes creates the best wines. Grapes from complementary soil types and microclimates are often married to maximize varietal characteristics and complexity.
Blends can be of different varietals, grapes from varied appellations, distinct sections of one vineyard or from wines made from the same source but by varied techniques. Robert says that wine making is more like cooking than chemistry – and he makes wine like great chefs create great cuisine.
With the harvest of 2015, Robert celebrates 43 consecutive years of winemaking. Robert is consulting winemaker for several small wineries that make their wine at Deerfield. He teaches hands-on winemaking there too, several of his students have started their own wineries and attained their own renown.
Clean Wine
At Deerfield Ranch Winery, we triple hand-sort all of our grapes to remove anything you wouldn’t feed to a baby. This reduces the toxins and bacteria. We keep a clean fermentation environment, and monitor the yeast for stress. As the yeast multiply rapidly we regularly feed them organic yeast food and supply them with oxygen to keep them growing happily.
Histamines are produced during the fermentation process by an interaction of the yeast and bacteria. By reducing bacteria in the fermenter Deerfield reduces the source of unwanted histamine production. The result is a cleaner wine, low in histamines and sulfites.
The FDA determined that about one percent of the population is allergic to sulfites and so required the “Contains Sulfites” label on wine. We make wine with very low levels of sulfite because elevated levels of sulfite may cause an allergic reaction.
Those who get headaches and have reactions to most wines can usually drink Deerfield wine.