2009 Cabernet Sauvignon

Tasting Notes

Our 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon is our most fruit-forward yet, reflecting a hot, dry year. It offers a classic Cabernet fragrance of cherry and chocolate, with some sagey notes and floral hints. You can almost taste the sunshine on the first sip, with intensely concentrated red fruit flavors, followed by hints of graham cracker, herbs and spice. This wine bears our trademark acidity and superfine, soft tannins. Our 2009 Cab is a pleasure to drink now but will open up and soften with age or aeration.  

Grower Notes

2009 combined heat (110% of average) and drought (60% of average rainfall), so we were able to pick all of our Cabernet before heavy October rains. This wine is blended from several blocks that demonstrate the diverse geology of our Adelaida Springs Ranch estate vineyard. Blocks 2 and 5 are planted on rocky but rich limestone clays that produce wines of startling acidity (pH 3.3 to 3.5) and delicately exotic, often floral personalities. Blocks 6 and 8, although just downhill from Block 5, have sandstone soils that produce much softer, less acidic (pH 3.6 to 3.8), and earthier wines.

Technical Notes

• Harvest Dates: September 22 through September 30
• Alcohol: 14.7%
• pH: 3.78
• TA: 0.66g/100 ml
• Aging: 23 months in barrel
• Barrels: 63% new French Oak
• Cases: 96
• Winemaker: Shannon Gustafson