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2015 Etude Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

2015 Etude Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

2015 Etude Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Tasting Notes

Tasting Notes

A classic expression of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, showing off the best of each growing region, this vintage shows off aromas and flavors of dark fruit led by blackberry, dark raspberry and black cherry with hints of oak spice. The wine is well balanced with great structural integrity, a solid acid backbone and a weighty yet elegant and lingering finish. Sure to continue gaining complexity and revealing additional character with age, the wine is suitable for immediate enjoyment or cellaring for another two decades.

Technical Information

Varietal Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage 2015
Appellation Napa Valley
Blend 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Alcohol % 14.8%
Enclosure Type Cork
Residual Sugars .04 g/100ml
pH 3.67
Pick Date 09/15/2015

Scores & Accolades

  • 94

    JamesSuckling.com

    "This is a lush and exuberant red with blackberry and blackcurrant character and pine-needle and licorice undertones. Full body and firm, velvety tannins. Lovely, rich fruit."- James Suckling, May 2019

  • 93+

    Vinous

    "The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley) is plush, dark and inviting. Black cherry, plum, mocha and chocolate add to the wine's voluptuous personality. This appellation-level Cabernet is very nicely done. Drink it over the next decade or so." - Antonio Galloni

  • 93

    Wine Advocate

    "The deep garnet-purple colored, the 2014 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is intense, expressive and open for business with exuberant blackberry and blueberry notes plus hints of cedar, dried herbs, violets, pencil shavings and menthol. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a soft, rich decadence about it, with nice smooth tannins and just enough freshness, finishing with satisfying toasty notes." - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, October 2017

Winemaking

Winemaking

Etude’s philosophy remains steadfast and this Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon was crafted with very minimal winemaking intervention. The grapes were cold soaked for 3-5 days and fermented on their skins in open top fermenters. An extended maceration period followed fermentation to help modify the depth and mouthfeel of the wine, and to fully extract color, flavor and aromatics. The young wine was then racked into small French oak barrels – using a selection of coopers and forests to accentuate the vineyard distinctions – where it aged for 20 months in 100% French oak (75% new). In order to maintain the unique characteristics of each vineyard, each block and lot was kept separate until this point when the assemblage was blended. The resulting wine was returned to barrel for an additional nine months of aging.

Jon Priest - Winemaker

For more than a decade Jon has fashioned Etude wines with a simple creed. Inspired winegrowing diminishes the need for a winemaker to intervene in the cellar. Whether sourcing from the estate Grace Benoist Ranch in Sonoma's Los Carneros, or vineyards like Fiddlestix and North Canyon in famed growing regions of California's Central Coast, his focus is on coaxing the very best from the vineyard. It shows in every glass of Etude.

Vintage

Vintage

After three years of plentiful harvests, the 2015 vintage brought low, but outstanding yields. A mild spring and summer with almost no rain allowed the fruit to ripen at a very steady and deliberate pace, and picking began a few days earlier than 2014. The drier-than-normal conditions and abundant sunshine contributed to the smaller berry size and low yields, resulting in wines with excellent concentration, color and flavor.

Vineyard

Napa Valley AVA

Napa Valley

Vineyard

The Etude Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is handcrafted with grapes from unique benchland vineyards representing the major sub-appellations of Napa Valley. The 2016 Cabernet was sourced with fruit from some of the most highly regarded winegrowers in Napa Valley — Vine Hill Ranch in Oakville, Morisoli Vineyards in Rutherford and Meteor Vineyard in Coombsville. By deliberately sourcing fruit from this group of exemplary vineyards, this wine exhibits the full potential of Cabernet fruit flavors and textures with vitality and finesse.

Winemaker Jon Priest

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