|
For those who like your Cabernet Sauvignon black, brooding, rich and with plenty of tannin, the Dashe Cellars 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley is for you.
As these vines have aged, they grapes they produce have developed a depth of flavor and a structure that is quite unusual for a Cabernet from this region. These hillside vines, grown on the Todd Brothers Ranch in Geyserville, produce a classic Bordeaux-style wine, with intense fruit, balance, and full tannins that respond beautifully to extended bottle age. It exhibits all of the intensity and complexity of Alexander Valley Cabernet, but with a style that is more reminiscent of a European wine. It needs either extended aging or, if consumed young, it should be decanted well before drinking to allow the wine to soften and integrate the fruit and tannin.
2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Todd
Brothers Ranch
Alexander Valley
History
To make our Cabernet Sauvignon, we use a
combination of both French and American winemaking techniques. Since both Michael and Anne have worked in
top Cabernet-producing wineries such as Chateau Lafite-Rothschild, Chateau La
Dominique, Ridge Vineyards and Far Niente, we use techniques we learned to
increase the intensity of flavor and aromas, while also gaining complexity,
subtlety, and lush texture. It truly is
an example of “the iron fist in a velvet glove,” showing wonderfully intense
Cabernet flavors, along with a perfumed aroma, layers and layers of fruit and
spice, and a long, complex finish.
Production
The 2006 vintage produced a good crop of Cabernet
Sauvignons that Dashe Cellars has ever made.
The grapes were crushed into our smallest fermentation tank (1500
gallons) and allowed to slowly ferment using a Bordeaux isolate yeast. During fermentation the temperature was
allowed to get above 90º F, to aid in the extraction of color and flavor. We
let the wine stay on the fermented skins for an extended time to extract the
maximum flavor and color, after which we pressed the grapes in a gentle
membrane press so as not to extract dry or harsh tannins.
The wine was aged for 20 months in 100% French
oak barrels, with about 25% of the wine aged in new oak. Every three months we racked the wine out of
barrel to clarify the wine and aid in its development. In our blending trials, we found ourselves
creating a classic “Bordeaux blend,” including Petit Verdot and Merlot in the
final blend. Since the tannins were
substantial, we fined the wine with 8 egg whites per barrel to remove harsh
tannins and to give the wine a silky, velvety texture. A big, balanced,
substantial wine, we believe that this Cabernet Sauvignon will be quite a
long-lived, able to age 15 years or more.
Production Notes
Varietals: 95%
Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot
Appellation: Alexander
Valley, Sonoma County
Alcohol: 14.0 % by vol.
Time in oak: 20
months
Oak: 100% French oak; 25% new
Production: 194
cases, 750mL
Release date: December
15, 2009
Sugg. retail price: $38.00 bottle
Optimum time for
consumption:
2009-2023
Tasting Notes
Color: Black
Aroma: Cassis,
blackberry, plum, fennel, chocolate, black pepper
Taste: Intense
blackberry and cassis flavors, ripe plum, licorice, lavender, chocolate,
velvety texture in the midpalette but with firm tannins, long, intense sweet
finish of blackberry and spice that persists for minutes.
|
