Release Date: Fall 1999

Much has been said in the annals of wine writing about the grip and integrity of old vine wine. On the objective side the sacrifice in yield is substantial. From 3.9 acres of Cabernet wines, we yielded 3.6 tons of grapes, less than one tone per acre. Off the charts in the world of viticulture, from this ridiculous equation comes a wine of unrelenting force and character. No amount of cutting-edge winemaking is needed here, just the careful, clean middle path and let the vineyard speak for itself.

The 1996 is a massive wine from a vintage characterized by ripeness. It is deep and mysterious in the nose with nuances of earth, olive, chocolate and briar. Expansive mid-palate flavors of licorice, black cherry and sweet oak are framed by tannins that suggests five to ten years of development ahead. Produced from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon planted over forty years ago on their own roots and fermented in small open-top fermentors, this wine was aged twenty-two months in new French Chateau Frere barrels with light egg-white fining prior to bottling.

Profound and rare, this bottling will reward any serious collector of California Cabernet Sauvignon.