2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Silverwood Vineyard (Sold Out)

Vineyard: Silverwood Vineyard is located almost at the top of Cloverdale’s Pine Mountain—soon to be yet another new AVA. The vineyard is at 2200 feet elevation above the Russian River in Alexander Valley. The soil there is as rugged as it gets: mostly decomposed rock and shale. This is extreme viticulture! The allure of mountain grown grapes is the extended sunshine above the fog layer, and milder temperature inversions—cool days and warmer nights. All of that contributes to abundant but soft tannins, deep dark color, and pronounced fruit in the blueberry-blackberry spectrum.

Winemaking: The grapes were harvested on October 3rd and than destemmed and sorted by removing the raisins and the shot green berries. The whole berries were directly dumped into a tank for cold maceration for about 5 days and then fermented and pressed at dryness. The malo-lactic fermentation was complete in barrels. During aging the wine was racked twice, barrel to barrel, with nitrogen.

Winemaker’s Tasting Notes: This relatively young vineyard is planted nearly at the top of Pine Mountain at 2200 feet elevation above the valley of the Russian River. The moderate temperature inversion at that altitude supports softer, richer tannins in the wine, concentrated wild berry aromas and enhanced varietal specific flavors of dark fruit, slight earthiness and subtle spices.