In an outstanding vintage, our Cabernet Sauvignon was picked from old, head pruned vines perched on a steep slope in the heart of the Happy Canyon. Being a small lot and looking for integrated texture the grapes were destemmed, and fermented in bordeaux barrels. A labor intensive technique that requires the removal of the barrel head to fill the barrel and then replacement of the head through fermentation, a long anaerobic fermentation and maceration is achieved that can not be done in an open fermenter. To press the wines, the free run wine is siphoned from the barrels and the heads are again removed temporarily and reassembled before the wine is returned to the barrel for malolactic fermentation and aging. Balanced use of French oak allows the character and texture of this wine to show through. Freshness comes from natural acidity and aromatic lift.
