“I got the wine, darling!”
“What is this?”
“It’s S-J Cab Sauv.”
“No it’s not. You’ve bought H-R Crab Saurv.”
“Isn’t that what you told me to buy?”
“No. The wine I told you about has CIGAR BOX on the nose, and not, as this label indicates, ASHTRAY.”
“Oh.”
“And the wine I wanted offered CURRANT on the palate, not CURRY.”
“I see what I did now.”
“What are the neighbors going to think of us?”
“Well, I’m sure it’s not a big deal, dear.”
“I SHOULD HAVE MARRIED YOUR BROTHER.”
2009 S-J Hansen Cask Selection Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley 750ml 4-Pack
The color is a deep, rich red. On the nose, CIGAR BOX, wow! Deep cherries, black currant, dark bittersweet chocolate, some toasted oak, leather and coffee. On the palate, you will find sweet tobacco, tart black cherry, and some black and red currant. The wine is smooth on the palate, but the tannins are very present and firm. The firm tannins and balance of fruit and acidity give this wine a long and lingering finish. Although young, this is a big beautiful long aging Cabernet Sauvignon.
Vineyard: The Reichel Vineyard is a spectacular high elevation vineyard on Pine Mountain in Cloverdale sitting at an elevation of 2,200-2,500. The Alexander Valley benefits from long warm days during the growing season and cool nights. The elevated vineyard further benefits the vineyard with the days being slightly cooler than the Valley floor and the evenings much cooler as the influence from the Pacific Ocean is more direct. The mountain vineyard provides for a longer growing season, which allows for slower maturity and thus more intensity of flavors in the grapes.
Harvest: The grapes were hand harvested on 10/24/09 into half-ton bins and hand sorted at the winery. The grapes were picked at between 24.1 - 24.4 brix, and exhibited an excellent balance between ripe fruit and a good acidic backbone.
Vinification Process: When the grapes arrived at the winery, they were cold soaked for four days to maximize pre-fermentation color extraction. After the cold soak, the juice was inoculated with the D254 yeast, which initiated a long and cool two week fermentation period. After fermentation, the wine was barreled down to 38% new oak of which 25% was American oak, 25% French/American hybrids and 50% French oak. It has been aging in barrel for 18 months. The blended additions of Petite Verdot added soft forward fruit and color, which helped to mellow the very big tannic Cabernet. The 4% of 2008 Malbec added a critical oak aged wine component, and some depth of fruit that also helped to tame the big Cabernet.
Vinification Process: When the grapes arrived at the winery, they were cold soaked for four days to maximize pre-fermentation color extraction. After the cold soak, the juice was inoculated with the D254 yeast, which initiated a long and cool two week fermentation period. After fermentation, the wine was barreled down to 38% new oak of which 25% was American oak, 25% French/American hybrids and 50% French oak. It has been aging in barrel for 18 months. The blended additions of Petite Verdot added soft forward fruit and color, which helped to mellow the very big tannic Cabernet. The 4% of 2008 Malbec added a critical oak aged wine component, and some depth of fruit that also helped to tame the big Cabernet.
A Path to Great Wines...With over 150 years in the wine industry we have stayed true to our roots in California, making wines that showcase the Lodi Appellation along with some Coastal Regions and a few very select vineyards in California such as Napa, Sonoma, Paso Robles and Santa Maria. This allows us to bring you multiple levels of wines where you can not only taste the beauty of Lodi wines, but appreciate the quality of different areas of California.
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