2014 Foretell Cabernet Sauvignon

2014 CABERNET SAUVIGNON SPRING MOUNTAIN DISTRICT

NAPA VALLEY

Vineyard

Properties: Wurtele Vineyard and Bale's Creek Estate

Appellation: Spring Mountain District, Napa Valley

Clonal Selections: clone 7, 4 and 337 cabernet sauvignon, clone 214 cabernet franc

Sites: North facing slopes at 1000 feet and 1900 feet elevation in the Mayacamas mountain range in west Napa Valley

Yields: 2.5 tons / acre

Growing Season

The 2013/2014 winter was one of the driest on record in California and rainfall totals in the Napa Valley were approximately half of normal. However, the timing could not have been better: heavy rains in late February and early March gave a much-needed drink of water to the vines as they were emerging from dormancy and about to begin bud break. With a warm spring and summer, the benefit of the drought was that berry sizes were smaller and had more concentrated flavors, which contributed to the overall quality of the 2014 harvest.

Harvest Date: October 15th-30th 2014

Harvest Brix: 26.6°brix

Winemaking

Hand-harvested, picked at night
De-stemmed whole berry to tank
48-hour cold soak at 55°F
Inoculated with D80 yeast and fermented for 10 days with 11 days extended maceration Free run drained by gravity for 12 hours and press fraction blended away
Aged 22 months in French oak barrels; 80% new
Coopers: Nadalie Colbert 36 month aged Medium Plus tight grain thin stave
Un-fined and lightly filtered; bottled August 2016

Notes

"The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Foretell is a blend of 89% Cabernet Sauvignon and 11% Cabernet Franc. Presumably a blend of the best wines in the cellar, this wine has an opaque ruby/purple color, a rich full- bodied mouthfeel, and terrific notes of graphite, blueberry and blackberry, in addition to spring flowers. It is layered, rich and, frankly, the finest wine I have ever tasted from Terra Valentine. This beauty, which is approachable now, should continue to drink well for 15-20 years." 94+ points Robert M. Parker Jr.