Tasting Notes: Inviting espresso, graphite and licorice scents give this vineyard designate an earthy flourish before more traditional ripe cherry and blackberry notes take the lead. Vivid acidity counters velvety texture as the wine unfurls its underlying grip of tannin. Approachably rich, it rewards with full flavor and body, and will age gracefully for decades.

Vineyard: The name To Kalon is whispered in hushed tones among lovers of Cabernet Sauvignon everywhere. There is something magical about the terroir at this valley floor site in Oakville that has produced world-class wines for generations of Napa Valley vintners. To Kalon sits on an alluvial fan deposited by ancient streams that flowed down from the Mayacamas mountains, establishing deep, gravelly, well-draining soils.

Vintage: The drought continued delivering a fourth straight dry winter and early spring budbreak. Some unsettled weather during flowering led to shatter and lower yields, but the peak summer months brought only a few extreme heat days. Ideal conditions ensued in the late summer, and while harvest came a bit early for Cabernet on September 15th, the small amount of fruit on the vine showed plush, ripe flavors and taut structure.

Winemaking: The grapes were destemmed into one open-top tank for a brief cold soak 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 daily punch-downs. After pressing the wine went into 100% new French oak barrels from Darnajou, Taransaud and Ermitage, where it aged for 24 months.

Food Pairings: No need to get crazy – seek to enhance the fruit and complement the earthy flavors of this wine with wood-fired lamb or grass-fed beef.