cakebread cabernet sauvignon

The grapes for our Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, a Bordeaux‐style blend of 83% cabernet sauvignon, 9% merlot, 5% cabernet franc and 3% petit verdot, came from top vineyards throughout the valley’s finest cabernet sauvignon appellations, including 56% from our own estate vines. Securing fruit from multiple, diverse sites enables us to craft a rich, yet elegant cabernet marrying the lush black fruit and sturdy tannins typical of the valley’s warmer northern districts with the bright fruit and acidity characteristic of its cooler southern climes. Each year, our winemaker, Julianne Laks, vinifies dozens of different lots of cabernet, assessing each one repeatedly in order to select only the very best lots for our final blend. Each lot of our Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is separately harvested, fermented and barrel‐ aged before blending. Each is also cold‐soaked for two days prior to fermentation, this fosters early color, flavor, and tannin extraction from the skins. Tank size, yeast strain, fermentation temperature and barrel type are specifically tailored to the fruit character of each lot. In 2013, the component wines aged six months in French oak barrels, 60% new, before being blended in April 2014. The final blend spent another 12 months in barrel before bottling in April 2015. Age: Remarkably delicious young, this classic Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon will develop even greater allure with another 7‐10 years’ bottle age.