2005 Alexander Valley
| Vintage: | 2005 |
| Appellation: | Alexander Valley |
| Composition: | 100% Cabernet Sauvignon |
| Bottle Sizes: | 750 ml Bottle, 1.5 L Magnum, 3 L Double Magnum, 6 L Imperial |
| Release Date: | Saturday, August 1, 2009 |
| 750 ml Price: | $70 |
Winemaker's Tasting Notes
The 2005 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon beautifully expresses the full aromatic ripeness of this exemplary vintage. It is full bodied and yet refined, and consistent in its color, aroma, palate and finish. It has a dark garnet color and a nose of black cherry, clove, cinnamon, lavender and licorice. It is seamless on the palate with a solid core of berry fruit, velvety tannins and excellent length. With proper cellaring it should give drinking pleasure through 2032.
Vintage Description
The dominant themes for the 2005 harvest were a rare combination of high quality and quantity, and very homogeneous maturity.
The growing season began with a rainy, late spring, providing a slow start to vine growth. Muddy conditions complicated our early spring tractor work and the exuberant growth kept us busy with suckering, but by mid-May, temperatures had warmed considerably for the crucial time of bloom.
The long summer was moderate and veraison (the coloring and softening of the berries) started right on time in early August. The long, cool growing season was perfect for developing grapes with excellent intensity of flavors and the perfect bloom conditions in May guaranteed even ripening. We began harvest on September 8th and brought in the last grapes on October 11th. It was a large harvest, but due to the even bloom and long, slow ripening, produced extraordinary wines.
Blending and Aging
Our 2005 Alexander Valley, a blend of wine from several selected vineyards in the appellation, is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. We blended the vineyard lots in early 2006 and transferred the wine to 50% new and 50% once-used American oak barrels for aging. Blending prior to barreling allows us to achieve a balance of the wine’s natural elements, such as fruit and tannin, before they are influenced by oak. The wine was then aged in barrel for approximately 25 months and another 15 months in bottle to harmonize its components before release.
