The 2010 TADDEI Late harvest Cabernet Sauvignon is a wine that may never have happened. 2010 was the longest and coldest growing season many California winemakers had ever seen. The summer was very cold by our standards, which prompted some winemakers to de-leaf their vineyards, speaking for myself and others I work with, this turned out to be a big mistake when an unexpectedly long and brutal heat wave arrived towards the end of the season. For those winemakers and vineyard managers that stayed the course the wines were, in many cases, utterly brilliant. For some fortunate winemakers produced their wines with deep colors, precise fruit, ripe tannins and expressive aromatics. Because the growing season was so long, the vines achieved full phenolic maturity, which gave the tannins a level of textural elegance that is unusual in such big wines. At the same time there was plenty of California richness, something Napa Valley has no problem producing in abundance. Cutting through the drama, our 2010’s were excellent, but at a cost. For those winemakers that pursue perfection, buy very expensive fruit, and want the very best mother nature can offer from the finest Napa vineyards, put bluntly, we got hammered by the sun and heat.

What does a winemaker do when he has super expensive fruit from some of the finest vineyards in Napa Valley that is a little overripe? That winemaker makes a late harvest wine out of it. Herein lies the beauty of over ripe, over expensive, Cabernet Sauvignon fruit from some of the most expensive vineyards in Napa Valley. We decided to sort fruit that we couldn’t use in our cab programs and make a late harvest wine. To be clear, I am port aficionado. The overripe fruit we pulled into the winery screamed barrel aging and I obliged. What did we do? We made a late harvest that by any standard would be amazing. Each year, for six years, we tasted our 2010 late harvest wine and after six years in new French oak it hit the point where it was time to bottle. After six years in new barrels, many tastings and toppings later, we decided we had a master piece. A 100% Cabernet Sauvignon Late Harvest wine in new French oak from some of the most prestigious vineyards in Napa Valley. We created a unique wine that rocked!

The wine is expressive, deep in flavors and not overly sweet. As a lover of Sauterne and vintage Port I am so pleased with how this wine turned out. I hope you enjoy it as much as my team and I do.