Tasting Notes

Release Date: Spring 2010

This is a collection of six amazing sites, all within the small envelope of the Santa Cruz Mountain Appellation. Mount Eden’s first Cuvée was in 1999, and it has evolved with our patient and dedicated family of vineyard owners to its present level.

The concept here is a Santa Cruz Mountain Cabernet, specifically mid-appellation (Saratoga-Los Gatos). The soils are generally heavier than at Mount Eden yet well-drained with moderate fertility. Crop levels are kept low (2 tons per acre) and the maturity is slow due to the elevation and proximity to the San Francisco Bay and Pacific Ocean. Fermented in small one-ton fermentors with native yeasts, the natural expression of each site is kept intact until blending after the first year.

2006 was a cool and easy vintage. These late-season grapes ripened slowly and evenly gaining character and complexity. With a subtle nose of earth, cassis and plum, this cuvée has a blend of blackberry, loamy earth, graphite and cassis on the palate. Built to age—the hallmark of Santa Cruz Mountain wines—yet structured for near term drinking.

Production

1,178

Tech Notes

Yield: 3 tons per acre

Harvest: September 19th-October 26th

Numbers @ Harvest: 23.2° Brix, 3.52 pH, 6.1 grams acidity

Cepage: 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc, 10% Merlot, 2% Syrah, 1% Malbec, 1% Petit Verdot

Barrel Regimen: Mix of French and American 1/2 new; aged 24 months in barrel

Bottling: August 2008; no fining or filtration

Alcohol: 13.9%

Reviews

Sorry, reviews are not available for this vintage.