Upper West Side

Winemaker’s Tasting Notes

This vineyard sits nearly on the summit of Mt. Veeder facing northeast on a slippery slope of about 25% in some rows. This extreme elevation and slope create a wine of immense density.

In true Mount Veeder fashion there is a beautiful green edge to the rich boysenberry. Toasted oak fills in the background of the aromatics complimenting the black and blue fruits. Briar, black cassis, fresh asphalt and char fill the mouth and then it finishes with well appointed tannins and acid. This is our biggest cab of the lineup, but still feels fresh and vibrant.

Winegrowing Approach

This vineyard is a blend of Cabernet clones 169 and 338. At this site they are quite different from each other which makes for great blending. The 169 is smaller berry, loose clusters with more black fruit. The 338 is much more like a spicy blueberry pie but without the concentration you get in the 169.

I fermented them together, about 70% clone 169 and 30% clone 338. Being on a steep mountain slope the flavors and tannin maturity change as you make your way down the slope, a common narrative with our mountain vineyards is finding that balance in the full spectrum from top to bottom.

It was on October 22nd that we picked the vineyard. Once at the winery the cabernet was fully destemmed and fermented in stainless steel tanks. The fermentation started slowly and took about twenty-five days in total, nearly double the average. What was remarkable was that the wine was so balanced that I felt no need to press. Every morning I would taste and decide what we would need to do with the tank for the day. And finally on day 63 I decided the wine was ready to be pressed off its skins - by far the longest I have ever gone with a Cabernet on its skins. The result is a wine that is much more integrated and cohesive earlier on in the aging process. The tannins are so supple and the flavors intertwined compared to a standard 14 day fermentation that most wineries do.

Technical Information

• Elevation: 1500-1750 feet

• Soil: Rocky, volcanic

• Slope and Aspect: 10%-30%, east-northeast facing

• Farming: Sustainable, all by hand

• Fermentation: 100% destemmed, 25-day fermentation, 63 days total on skins

• Aging: 90% new French Oak, 15 months, racked only once, prior to bottling

• Production: 42 cases bottled May 25th, 2020, neither fined or filtered

• Alcohol: 15.2%