2018 Longfellow Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville

Vintage Notes
Renteria 360 Vineyard lies at the northwest border of the Oakville appellation with Rutherford just off the Silverado Trail. Warmer than most Oakville locations, the vineyard shows classic and serious Oakville valley floor characteristics, however its location on the Rutherford border adds some enigmatic dustiness and earth to the fruit.

2018 will go down as the easy harvest and vintage that followed one of the most difficult in 2017. Thankfully, the growing season was beautiful highlighted by long and warm summer days devoid of notable heat spikes that allowed perfect ripening. The fruit was plush and racy and produced an incredibly polished and serious wine with tremendous structure and aging potential.

The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon is also the first Cabernet made for us by our new winemaker, Kale Anderson. Kale has the distinction of being one of the youngest winemakers in Napa to be awarded a 100-point score by the Wine Advocate for his work at Pahlmeyer and he brings his unique and focused style to Longfellow. This wine is unlike any we have made in past vintages – utilizing a long cold soak to optimize the extraction and aged in 100% new French oak barrels for over 22 months.

Tasting Notes
Dark purplish color leads to a blast of black cherry fruit laced with dried currants. Racy dark fruit explodes on the palette until giving way to savory notes of marinated black olive, leather, and a touch of vanilla. The proximity to Rutherford provides bold but polished tannic structure that should allow the wine to age beautifully for 15-20 years.

Specifications
Vineyard - Renteria 360 Oakville
Winemaker - Kale Anderson
Production - 134 Cases
Varietal - 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Harvest Date - October 8, 2021
Alcohol - 14.9%