Geyser Peak Winery
2009 Alexander Valley Ascentia Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon •Ascentia Vineyard
California: Alexander Valley
Mission Briefing
Generous Beast
Today’s Geyser Peak Winery 2009 Alexander Valley Ascentia Cabernet Sauvignon is one serious wine. If you like your Cabs big and brawny, this is the wine for you.
Today’s wine is best decanted, as a little air will really help it come alive. Once it opens, notes of earth, spice, and tobacco will be joined by dark fruit, creating a very well rounded and robust drinking experience. On the finish, the wine slowly trails away, with a touch of dark spice lingering on the very tip of your tongue.
Need a good wine to pair with your next steak dinner? We’ve found your winner!
Tasting Profile
| Look: | Richly dark crimson, almost inky, in the glass, with near perfect diffusion from center to rim. |
|---|---|
| Smell: | Juicy, incredibly fresh aromas of raspberry and wild strawberry leap from the glass, trailed by hints of sweet brown baking spices, cherry tobacco leaf, sandalwood, and a dusty berry bramble. |
| Taste: | Beautiful notes of spice, earth, and bold pipe tobacco take center stage. These are followed by reductions of blackberry, plum, grilled fig, and black cherry. The longer you decant this wine, the more the fruit transitions to freshness. |
| Finish: | A lingering finish, highlighted by lengthy flavors of sweet tobacco leaf and dusty terroir. |
| Pairing: | A charred ribeye steak, served with homemade herbal butter drizzled overtop. |
What the Winery Says
Our Ascentia Vineyard is located in the heart of Sonoma County’s Alexander Valley. Graceful structure, medium tannins, deep color and cherry fruit are characteristic of this site.
- Winemaker
- Ondine Chattan
- Accolades
- Gold Medal - Sonoma County Harvest Fair
- Appellation
- Alexander Valley, California
- Vineyard
- Ascentia Vineyard
- ABV
- 14.6%
About the Winery
One of California’s oldest and most renowned wineries, Geyser Peak Winery was founded in 1880 by Augustus Quitzow, a pioneer in Alexander Valley winemaking, Geyser Peak has flourished as an award-winning winery for more than 130 years. Quitzow chose the original winery site in Geyserville for its vantage point of the famed Geysers Geothermal area. The white steam that billowed from the geysers along the mountain slopes provided the winery with a spectacular ‘view of the clouds’.
Today, Geyser Peak pays fond tribute to its past roots in Alexander Valley as it sets forth on a new path into the Dry Creek Valley Appellation where the winery has recently relocated. Although the address is new, the commitment to the highest quality artisan winemaking is not. Geyser Peak will continue to “Reach For Peak” for many years to come.
Winemaker Ondine Chattan
Ondine Chattan has completed more than 15 harvests with Geyser Peak Winery. Under her leadership, the winemaking team has honed and refined the now distinctive style of our wines, introducing innovative production techniques, and enthusiastically promoting the Alexander Valley and our broad portfolio of award-winning wines.
A native of Marin County, Ondine spent a great deal of time in Sonoma Wine Country during her childhood, where she fell in love with the wine industry. This passion in her soul has never wavered and grew even stronger while obtaining an undergraduate degree in Viticulture from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and a Master’s Degree in Enology from Fresno State University.
After college, her love of Zinfandel and Rhone varietals led her to positions at Cline Cellars in the Sonoma Valley and Ridge Vineyards in Cupertino before settling down to her ‘winemaking home’ in the Alexander Valley. Joining Geyser Peak was a dream come true for Ondine, with its diversity of varietals, vineyards and wine styles inspiring her creativity and fueling her passion for producing exciting, accessible, unique wines.