From the Winemaker:
Our Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is intended to be approachable, consumed relatively young, and a versatile food companion. We are always after a more subtle, more restrained, almost lighter style of Cabernet Sauvignon than what may be typical in California these days, but also something that is bright and characteristic of the variety. Lean and a little rustic like a lot of French wine, but fruit forward like the best of California.
The grapes for this wine come about 65% from our own block in Mitch Patin’s Lloyd Vineyard on West Soda Rock Road planted in 1998 towards the southern end of Alexander Valley on the banks of the Russian River. The remaining 35% comes from a steep knoll called Trieb Vineyard in the more northern reaches of the Alexander Valley. The 2018 also has a small amount of Malbec from the J Rickards Vineyard in Cloverdale.
As always, this wine was produced more like a Pinot more than a Cab. Fermented in open-tops with native yeasts, punched down by hand, and racked to barrels before being aged in 2nd fill French oak barrels for 15 months.