CASE PRICE = $77.99 per bottle (add 12+ quantity to your basket)
Notes from the Winemaker:This is the fourth vintage from our historic Reserve vineyard after a replanting of the vineyards took us out of production for five vintages. The new rootstock, clones, trellising system and vine row orientation have proven to be the perfect combination of variables for the Groth Reserve Cabernet. Location is the paramount factor providing the perfect blend of diurnal temperatures, rainfall amounts and soil profiles for our winegrowing endeavors.
Vintage: WOW! Mother Nature threw almost everything at us in 2008! A light rainy season was followed by the worst frosts we have seen in over thirty years. Unusual weather patterns during bloom and set wreaked havoc with some varieties, greatly impacting tonnage yields. A few heat spikes were thrown in during the Summer for good measure, followed by a little bit of rain. All of this was assuaged by our typical “Indian Summer” of dry warm weather which allowed the red grapes to gracefully mature on the vines. Oh, I forgot - we had severe forest fires in June! Through all of this the wines are quite lovely. Low yields from smaller grapes and clusters that ripened at lower sugars are providing us with great balance, flavors and aromas. The reds are loaded with flavor and color that is expressing itself in the wines – a blessing for those folks who were very patient in the face of adversity. Overall, 2008 is another keeper!
Harvest & Winemaking: All of the Cabernet Sauvignon is from our Reserve Block here at the Estate. In these vineyards, we do a pre-veraison cluster thinning followed by two post-veraison cluster thinning. Cabernet Sauvignon clusters are night harvested, allowing the fruit to remain cool for sorting and cold soak. Clusters are hand sorted, then de-stemmed without crushing; the berries go through a second hand sort, making sure only the best berries go into the small ten-ton fermenters. The must is cold soaked for up to five days. After fermentation is complete, barrel aging takes place in our dedicated, gravity-flow, and dual level Reserve barrel rooms. The wine is racked barrel to barrel and aged for 22 months in 100% new French oak.The 2008 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon shows the intrinsic black stone fruit nuances and the soft tannin structure that define our Oakville, Napa Valley-floor Cabernet.
Blending: all of the Cabernet Sauvignon from our Reserve Block was harvested as separate lots, 67% of the lots selected for final blend. 9% Merlot grown on our Hillview vineyard
Barrels: 100% new French Oak
Coopers: Vernou, Sylvain, Quintessence
Aging: 22 months in barrel. The Reserve lots were blended in the cellar, and aged together for approximately half of the total cellar time.
Ratings & Reviews96 Points & Cellar Selection - Wine Enthusiast Magazine:
"A huge Cabernet, in the best sense of the word. It wasn’t the easiest vintage, as 2007 was, but meticulous winemaking did the job, resulting in this amazingly rich, impressively ripe wine that’s drinkable now and will develop for many years. The fruits veer toward blackberries, cherries and cola, and the tannins are soft and refined. One hundred percent new French oak isn’t at all heavy, lending nuances of buttered toast and sweet wood tannins. Will easily age for 15 years. Cellar Selection." —S.H. (Feb 2012)
