2023 Fluffy Billows Cabernet
Description
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Tasting Notes
This vintage has lived up to the hype with ripe, luscious fruit forward character and yet a restrained mature backbone with length to spare. Blackberry and plum dominate with ripe current and a backdrop with cassis, eucalyptus and a hint of licorice. Blending floral tones of Cabernet Franc appear, along with the deep notes of black cherry, sage and lavender from a touch of Petit Verdot. Two years in French Oak have added a complex spice box of flavors, showing cardamom and cinnamon layered in a framework of integrated oak tannins. This vineyard site continually produces wines of great polish and drinkability, making them a joy to open while still young. Drink by itself or it can handle spiced dishes such as Moroccan Chicken Tagine, a simple cheese course or of course a classic T bone steak.
Vineyard Notes
2023 has a large chance of going down as one of the best vintages across the board in the last 20 years in the North Coast of California. The Fluffy Billows is the first glimpse of Cabernet from that vintage and could not be more of a joy to drink. Our first wet winter in four years saturated the soils and put us two weeks behind right from the start. A long cool summer resulted in the latest pick dates we have ever seen including our first time picking in November. Concern of late season rain (which never materialized) gave way to overjoy of welcoming in grapes with beautiful flavor development via extended hang time.
Production Notes
The Cabernet fruit was hand-picked into macro bins, then sorted and de-stemmed and crushed into stainless steel tanks. Cold soaking was carried out over 24 hours, and the must was inoculated and pumped over one to three times per day, then pressed before finishing primary fermentation. Once dry, the wine was racked to barrel and inoculated for malolactic fermentation. It was racked again at the conclusion of secondary fermentation and twice more before bottling. Though it was filtered, owing to its time in barrel, fining was not necessary.
Awards
97 points, Double Gold ~ Sunset International Wine Competition
| Vintage |
2023 |
| Wine Style |
Red Wine |
| Varietal |
Cabernet Sauvignon |
| Varietal Composition |
94%
Cabernet Sauvignon
4%
Cabernet Franc
2%
Petit Verdot
|
| Appellation |
Oakville |
| Harvest Date |
October 11th & November 6th |
| Acid |
5.7g/L |
| PH |
3.65 |
| Barrel Aging |
22 months
60%
New French Oak
40%
Neutral Oak
|
| Bottling Date |
August 5th, 2025 |
| Alcohol % |
13.6 |
| Size |
750 ml |
