BRION 2005 CABERNET SAUVIGNON, NAPA VALLEY

Tasting Notes

Concentrated deep red color with orange hues on the rim. Wonderful red and black fruits; currant, strawberry, and cherry are accented with earthy nuance of cedar, No2 pencil, tar and truffle. The aroma is shaded with the signature violet floral and star anise note. Further complexities of cocoa, white- pepper, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon and cola pour forth as the wine opens. In the mouth the well-endowed tannins give superb dense structure. Decidedly more Bordeaux in style than recent vintages of BRION, the 2005 is still youthful and will blossom given long-term cellaring. Best from 2011-2016. 404 Cases produced.

Vineyards

Our Cabernet Grapes came from the Bennett 1st Street Vineyard in Coombsville, a southerly appellation of Napa Valley. The vineyard, although staying warm and dry, is generally a little cooler than many Napa Valley vineyards and therefore allows more hang-time for the grapes. This brings greater concentration and layering to the finished wine. Blocks 6 and 8 are upper hillside sites facing east-southeast. The vineyard soil is rocky loam, which provides good drainage and low nutrient concentration. Under these stresses the vines work hard to produce a limited amount of fruit.

Vintage Report

The 2005 growing season was cooler than average overall. The later part of the season provided steady weather with plenty of warm to hot days complimented by cooling nighttime temperatures. This allowed us to bring the grapes to an optimum ripeness without sacrificing balance. The cool, consistent weather pattern allowed the flavor development of the grapes to keep up with the brix accumulation, which is always the challenge. The generally cooler weather extended the harvest into late October and provided a long ripening period which for us has become the norm and the advantage of the coombsville climate. At harvest we had excellent fruit condition contrasting the dehydration we experienced in the 2004 harvest.

Winemaking

A 5-day cold soak stabilized the grapes for fermentation. Following a 21 day extended maceration, the wine was pressed and transferred to small French oak barrels for aging. The wine was bottled in May 2007 following 20 months maturation in barrel and further aged in bottle until ready for release.

General Info

Composition: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Winemaker: Massimo Monticelli
Appellation: 100% Napa Valley
Alcohol: 14.5% Vineyards: Bennett-Cabernet-Blocks 6 and 8
Bottled: May 2007
Oak Profile: 20 Months in 100% new French Oak
Production: 404 cases
Harvested: October 28th, 2005