Notes from the Winemaker: Vineyard Notes: Layer Cake Cabernet Sauvignon was made from select vineyard sites in California combining richness and big fruit flavors with classic structure and tannic power.
Climate: California is famous for its warm days and cool nights, maintaining good natural acidity while the ripeness levels rise.
Winemaking Notes: We fermented this using hand punch downs and gentle pumpovers; then transferring some to French oak for aging. The biggest structured, most powerful lots were put into new French oak for aging to balance the tannins and extract the rich flavors from the barrique. Some lots that would benefit from the softening effect of time in oak were put into French barrels that were used to age. By carefully blending the different lots, varying oak types and different vineyard lots, we created a balanced and complex wine.
Tasting Notes: Beautiful deep garnet color. Aromas of blackberry, cassis, violets, cedar, tobacco, and hints of minerals and graphite. Sweet, densely packed and creamy in the mouth, but with firm, underlying structure that gives lift to the dark berry, chocolate, and coffee flavors. This is a very lush, soft, complex wine that coats the palate and spreads out on the long, lingering finish.
Wine Facts:
100% California
100% Pure Cabernet Sauvignon
Alc. 14.1% by volume
Bottled July 20, 2010
