Wine Notes
Vintage:
2017
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 2017 growing season was basically uneventful, thus “normal” unlike the 2015 and 2019 seasons. The 2017 spring was moderate, having good temperatures for bloom and set. The clusters were well-filled but not over-cropped. However, late summer was warm with several heat spikes. At veraison there was fruit thinning or “green harvest” to remove low-colored clusters. The fall was also warm and harvest proceeded steadily. Skin and seed maturity was fully achieved. The resulting wines had great color, fruit profiles and are elegant on the palate and have fine-grain tannins for aging.
Fermentation & Aging:
We harvested the morning of October 8th. It turned out to be 15 hours before the Tubbs fire started at 10pm. The Brix (sugar) was 26.8º and acid was 5.9 grams/liter. The must was thoroughly sorted, removing all green “stem jacks”. Fermentation took place in an open-top tank and punched down (piégage) 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-Ferré style barrels that are 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.