2018 RAW Cabernet Sauvignon

Appellation: Niagara Peninsula
A.B.V: 15.7%
R.S.: <3 g/l
T.A.: 6 g/l

Source: Niagara Peninsula

Winemaker’s Notes: We usually harvest Cabernet Sauvignon In November, sometimes December, but due to early ripening and the rainy conditions of the vintage, we harvested on October 18th. We saved all the clean fruit and using a fan drying system we dried for 6 weeks, the brix ended up being a nice 28. Once the grapes finished drying, we put whole cluster bunches to the stainless tanks and injected Carbon Dioxide to the tanks and sealed them for 20 days. The destemmed fruit was then put into our giant rectangular concrete vessels along with the skins for 15 days. After 15 days we transferred the free-run juice to one of our rubies (2000L diamond shaped concrete tank) and one clay vessel, where the alcohol fermentation took 14 months.

Sommelier's Notes: This is a powerful expression of Cabernet Sauvignon and I have to remind myself that it didn’t see oak. There is an intense nose of ripe cassis, cardamom, damson plum, and a hint of tar and leather. The nose is lifted, suggesting higher alcohol. The palate is concentrated and drying, with a pleasing acidity and a long ripe finish. The fruit shines through on the palate. I suggest decanting this wine, and maybe even aging it for some time before braving its intensity. This will develop slowly. If you must, decant for a few hours, use large glassware, don’t serve it too cold as the tannins will take over, and have something high in protein and fat like a ribeye.

Spec Sheet: – Download PDF –