Tasting Notes by Jason Stumpf (March 2025)
This wine captivates from the first swirl, revealing an expressive bouquet of ripe raspberry, juicy blueberry and luscious cooked strawberry. Layers of dried violets, Madagascar vanilla bean, and an exotice spice box weave seamlessly with hints of tobacco leaf, white pepper, cocoa and cedar. On the palate, its complexity unfolds with vibrant tart raspberry, warm spice, and blackened Fresno chili, balanced by supple leather and a whisper of smoky tar. A refined minerality lingers on the finish, leaving an impression of elegance and depth. Thiswine still has plenty of life in it, although ready now, this wine can sit in your cellar for another 10+ years.
Harvest October 16th - 20th, 2016
100% TVH Oakville Estate fruit
90% Cabernet Franc
10% Cabernet Sauvignon
Clone 1 Cabernet Franc
Clone 7 Cabernet Sauvignon
Brix 25.4°
14.5% ABV
pH 3.52 / TA .68
Fermentation started with indigenous yeast then finished with the addition of Saccharomyces bayanus in closed stainless-steel tanks after a three-day cold soak
30 months in French Oak barrels - 50% new oak
18 Months bottle aging
100 Cases produced
2016 Vintage: “A near-perfect growing season” is how critics, winemakers, and growers throughout Napa have described the 2016 vintage. The growing season began much earlier than average but without any extreme heat spikes like 2015. The midsummer months followed with mild and warm days. This absence of high temperatures provided the ideal growing conditions for our grapes; too much heat and the vines shut down to protect themselves.
