The color is deep, dark and brilliant. The nose is true to Cabernet with a bit of leather, and very little earth. The taste is bold, with long linear strokes from front to back. The tannin is definitely Cabernet typical but without being obtrusive or dominant. All the elements are harmonious and integrated. You have to look for the oak; it is so much a part of the whole experience. The wine is dry yet gentle for a Cab. It has great balance across the pallet, every corner sensitized, no wholes or blanks. The berry flavors are in the center of the palate and lead to a long finish.

Each lot was fermented and aged separately. After triple sorting the handpicked grapes, a fermentation protocol, from yeast selection, to temperature control, feeding, oxygenation, and maceration times was implemented for each lot. We age many of our red wines longer in the barrel than any other American winery. Long barrel aging not only softens tannins and integrates flavors into a balanced harmony, it also concentrates the wine, by about 6% per year by evaporation through the barrel. This allowed the 09 reds to achieve richness and depth that shorter barrel aged wines can never attain. The results are worth the effort, the expense and the wait.