2015 Quilt Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Napa Valley

WSI94 Rich, intense, saturated red berries. Espresso and caramel flavors, long velvety finish. Opulent, bold round flavors, immediately appealing!
Estate Notes: COLOR: Dark garnet red.
AROMAS: Abundant notes of dark berry fruits, ripe plum, toffee, and toasted hazelnut intertwined with hints of leather.
PALATE: Rich dark fruit at the forefront with hints of blackberry, boysenberry and cassis, that give way to flavors of cocoa, cardamom, dried sage, and oak spice.
STRUCTURE: A full-bodied, complex Cabernet with layers of concentrated black fruit and excellent balance. The wine’s breadth and structure is complemented by a supple, velvety mouthfeel, with fine-grained tannins. The finish is long, smooth, and satisfying. 

For this Reserve wine, the winemaking begins when we call a pick. Regular visits and assessment of each block direct us to harvesting at the right moment. Our assessment consists of testing sugar levels, acidity and pH, but more importantly, waiting for phenolic/physiological maturity. We want to see hard, brown seeds, copper canes, and yellowing of the canopy with some slight dimpling from dehydration on the skins. This gives us the assurance we will have no green tones in the resulting wine and the structure and intensity will be at its height. In the cellar, we de-stem all Cab and move the must to a temperature controlled tank where it will begin a partially frozen cold soak for up to 2 weeks, and pump over each day to prepare the skins for proper extraction. We then begin a cold fermentation, aiming for 30 days of active fermenting to slowly pull the color and structural elements out of the skins without getting seed tannins. After we achieve dryness, the wine sits under cap, in extended maceration for up to two weeks at which time we re-evaluate the progress of each lot  before moving the wine to 59 gallon French oak barrels (70% new) where it undergoes a secondary fermentation. Our final blend (100% Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon) came about after numerous blind tastings and is the pinnacle of our Cabernet production.