Wine Notes
Vintage:
2015
Appellation:
St. Helena, Napa Valley
Vineyards:
The Calafia Estate Vineyard is located in the center of the St. Helena appellation on Fulton Lane between Main Street and the Napa River. The soil is Bale Loam and contains a fair amount of cobble from the Napa River, which increases our drainage. The vineyard was planted in 2000 and one block was replanted in 2004 due to the discovery of Leaf Roll II in Cabernet Clone 337. Currently the vineyard is planted to 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Malbec and 10% Petit Verdot. All of our clones are from the ENTAV certification program in France.
Vintage Notes:
The 2015 growing season began with a moderate spring: not too cold or wet, resulting in a normal fruit set. The bunches were well-filled with an occasional wing as in 2014 when Cabernet clusters were moderately packed and had some occasional wings. The summer was also moderate: warm with a few heat waves. At veraison there was a thinning or green harvest to remove green or pink fruit. The fall heat was variable, being punctuated by heat spikes that caused Brix to jump unexpectedly. But in the end, skin and seed maturity was fully achieved. The resulting wines have great color, aromatic fruit profiles, are elegant on the palate, and have fine grain tannins for aging.
Fermentation & Aging:
The grapes were crushed September 28th. The Brix (sugar) was 27.8° and acid was 5.8 grams/liter. The must was thoroughly sorted, removing all green “stem jacks”. Fermentation took place in an open-top tank and punched down (piegage) 3 to 4 times per day. Pressing was very gentle, using a traditional basket press. The barrel-aging regime was 40% new and 60% once-filled French oak using Chateau-Ferre-style barrels that were very tight grain. The staves were air dried for 30 months and received a medium plus toast level. These factors allow the oak to seamlessly integrate with the wine giving a supportive background structure with fine grain tannins and with toasty oak nuances in the aroma and flavor profiles.