Tasting Notes: 

The nose is rich and enveloping, a swirl of mint chocolate, crushed cherry, and cassis rising from the glass with confident warmth. Beneath it, a thread of oak—vanilla just beginning to caramelize—wraps gently around the fruit without obscuring it. As the wine opens, deeper tones emerge: plum sauce warmed on the stove, melted red licorice, a hint of cedar smoke curling at the edges.

On the palate, the fruit darkens and deepens—black cherry, blueberry, and ripe plum layered over a supple mid-palate that carries a hint of new oak with quiet composure. The tannins are firm and tactile, fine-grained yet insistent, giving structure and promise to what’s still to come. There’s generosity here, but also restraint—the sense of a wine holding something back, waiting for the right moment to reveal its full voice.

Right now, it hums in harmony—lush fruit, polished oak, and cool minty lift. With a few years of patience, it will sing.

Vineyards: The Vintage Select combines lots from all of our vineyards to give the truest expression of the character of each vintage in Sonoma County. The Cabernet for the 2021 edition of this wine was sourced from the Star Springs Ranch in Alexander Valley (40%) and our Estate Vineyard (30%) and Gradek Ranch (30%) in Dry Creek Valley. Each offers a different soil type, micro-climate and or aspect which contributes to the complexity of the final blend.

Vintage: The 2021 growing season began with a dry, cold winter but saw a swift rise in spring temperatures, fostering robust vine growth and successful flowering. Summer remained temperate, and the calm growing season and drought conditions enabled grapes to reach phenolic ripeness at lower sugar levels while preserving aromatics and bright acidity. Cabernet Sauvignon lots for this wine were harvested from September 21st through October 15th. 

Winemaking: The grapes were de-stemmed into small open-top tanks for a long cold soak to encourage development of color before fermentation began spontaneously with wild yeast. Fermentation continued without the addition of any chemicals or enzymes, aided only by the heat of the sun and gravity-fed "pump-overs" once per day. After pressing the wine went into French oak barrels – 30% of which were new – aged for 24 months, and was racked only once, immediately prior to bottling.