Winemaker's Notes
We produce and bottle two Cabernet Sauvignons grown at our vineyard. Due to the soil differences and rootstock (the half of the plant that interfaces with the soil that is usually out of sight and mind) the same clone (probably clone UCD 7) shows different facets of its personality. For this area, the resulting wine has more red fruits herbal/cassis notes and relies a bit more on acidity than tannin for its structure than the Scherrer Vineyard bottling. They’re both lovely and age incredibly well. They’re just different expressions of the grape.
Since rootstock keeps coming up, this area is grafted to 140 Ruggeri, a Vitis berlandieri and Vitis rupestris cross. Despite its original purpose to be lime tolerant for many old world soils, it also does well on moderately acidic soils such as ours. Its vigor is appropriate for the soil fertility level and it translates soil to fruit in a favorable way. We put in a rootstock trial when these were planted in the early 1990’s in order to better see what we might want to plant the next time. The rootstocks were: 3309C, 101-14 MGt, 44-53 M, 110R and 1103P, with the main planting being 140 Ru. When the vines were 10 and 11 years old, I vinified each rootstock row separately and was stunned at how profound these differences could be. For our vineyard, I am happy with the choice we made between the two rootstocks (140 Ru vs 1103 P) we were offered by the nursery when they couldn’t deliver the St. George (Vitis rupestris) my dad originally ordered, and now better understand how the wines can be sculpted through use of various rootstocks.
Our winemaking style for this variety differs significantly from the norm with nearly 4 years in barrel without racking (typical is 18-24 months with multiple rackings). So, this extra time (essentially double) is an important ingredient/factor in the outcome. This style/method has been my slowly evolving, reasoned approach (ignoring cash-flow, of course) that is completely focused on making the best wine possible without compromise…because I think I can and should.
With a nice, spicy nose overlaid on cassis, red fruits and petrichor, this is a lovely representation of Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. There’s a nice pop of acidity that further supports the red fruits through the entire palate.
