Dear Cellar Society Members,
As you’ve probably heard, the harvest started late this year and it’s been an interesting one! The quality is great, but the crop is not a large one this year due to weather affecting fruit set this spring. Our barrel fermented Chardonnay is currently wrapping up primary fermentation. This year’s Chardonnay was picked at the perfect time and the fruit looked beautiful. I can’t wait to introduce this crisp and complex wine to you. It is mid-September as I write this in between processing grapes, and I hope to be wrapped up by the beginning of November, with wines down to barrel for aging over the holidays.
This is our first year with our Tasting Room in Apple Hill, and the “Apple Hill Season” started in early September, with droves of people visiting the region to celebrate the apple harvest and enjoy cider, apple donuts and, of course, wine tasting! Naturally, we’ve gotten into the apple excitement as well this year and are planning to make our first cider to share with you next year.
During it all we’re getting ready for your next club release and decided to make sure you have plenty of time to plan a visit and pick up during the Apple Hill season. Feel free to ask our team for favorite recommendations of where to get the best apple treats, or just give yourself plenty of time to drive up or down Carson Road and discover for yourself!
In this club release we have an exciting new wine for you – our 2020 Reserve Cabernet, featuring a brand-new iteration of our label to add to the family of new label designs we’ve been releasing for the past year or so. I love this wine’s round, juicy, dark berry and plum flavors surrounding a strong central tannic backbone with lingering tart cherry flavors.
Along with the Reserve Cabernet we’re bringing back an oldie but goodie, our 2018 Meritage, to round out our Bordeaux theme for this release. This wine is drinking perfectly right now and is one we think you’ll want to have around to pair with fall flavors and holiday meals. The Meritage boasts an easy to love aromatic profile of dried herbs, raspberry, and dried blueberry with hints of sweet American oak. Supple tannins, bright acidity and deep fruit flavors round out the palate of this medium bodied Bordeaux style blend.
I hope to see you soon in Apple Hill! This is my favorite season, with apple and grape harvest transitioning into pumpkin picking season and my favorite holiday, Halloween. Whenever you visit over the next few months, I know you’ll have a great time.
All the best,
Brian Darwazeh, Winemaker
2020 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
Sierra Foothills
Sierra Foothills
TASTING NOTES: This wine releases layers of aromas as it aerates, including oak spice, cedar, cinnamon candy, violets, and licorice root, all backed by a core of ripe blackberry. Round, juicy, dark berry and plum flavors surround a strong central tannic backbone from start to finish. You’ll enjoy this wine’s mouth coating tannins and medium-full body with lingering tart cherry flavors.
WINEMAKING NOTES: The 2020 vintage was hot during harvest and overall produced big but soft wines that are not too grippy. This classic California cabernet sauvignon grew in a vineyard that is dry farmed with sandy, well drained soils. The specific clonal selection of cabernet sauvignon is clone 8, which is known for its excellent fruit characteristics, deep pigment, and strong tannic profile. We destemmed the fruit but did not crush it, and whole berry fermented this wine for 14 days with a Bordeaux yeast. After fermentation we lightly pressed the wine off the skins so as not to extract too much harsh tannin, as we were looking for a round and lush mouthfeel to balance the ample body of the wine. The pressed wine went straight to barrel to age for 20 months before bottling.
AGING: Aged for 18 months in 50% new oak.
FOOD PAIRING: Pair Cabernet Sauvignon with rich, hearty, and bold flavors. Steaks like a marinated ribeye are always a good idea, as are gourmet burgers, meatballs, brisket, short ribs, and stroganoff. Pair with flavorful cheeses like aged cheddar, gouda, or gorgonzola. Great vegetarian pairings include mushroom pizza, marinated and grilled portobella mushrooms, mushroom risotto, eggplant parmesan, and a hearty veggie chili.
WINE SPECS
85% Cabernet Sauvignon
15% Merlot
14% alcohol
2018 Meritage
Fair Play
Fair Play
TASTING NOTES: This wine boasts an easy to love aromatic profile of dried herbs, raspberry and dried blueberry with hints of sweet American oak. Supple tannins, bright acidity and deep fruit flavors round out the palate of this medium bodied Bordeaux style blend. This wine will age beautifully for about 8 years.
WINEMAKING NOTES: Our Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot vineyards in Fair Play produced very high quality fruit in 2018. We were able to take advantage of a mid-harvest heat spell which allowed the fruit to fully mature enough to harvest. Upon crushing we took a 10% saignee (bleeding off of juice) to concentrate the already ripe flavors even more. We utilized a yeast strain isolated from the Bordeaux region to ferment the wine. Post fermentation we aged the wines separately in a blend of French and American oak. The resulting wines are some of the best to come off our vineyards. We decided to blend a portion of those wines into this Meritage as a taste summary of our Fair Play AVA vineyards.
AGING: Aged for 21 months in 2nd use French and American oak.
FOOD PAIRING: Filet Mignon with gorgonzola cream sauce, roasted duck with a red wine and blueberry sauce, cheeseburgers, meatloaf, macaroni and cheese, or stuffed mushrooms.
ACCOLADES: 91 Points, Wine Enthusiast
Silver Medal, Orange County Fair
WINE SPECS
63% Cabernet Sauvignon,
20% Merlot, 11% Petite Sirah, 5%
Cabernet Franc, 1% Montepulciano
13.5% alcohol
272 cases produced
$32 per bottle
