2015 Cabernet Sauvignon

Tasting Notes

This expressive, exquisitely balanced wine is beautiful on the nose, delivering a superb constellation of violets, red berries, cherry, thyme, allspice and Thai basil. On the palate, the wine is deep, complex and soil-driven with red fruit flavors that are focused and tightly wound around the core of Seavey’s hillside tannic backbone. Blackberries, cured meats, and tamarind finish this wine with lingering flavors of Bing cherries. This wine possesses the raw power to journey through three decades but paradoxically offers elegant, refined tannins– a rare find in a hillside Napa Cabernet of this age. Like the 2010 vintage, Seavey’s 2015 vintage will be remembered for its soulful, expression of terroir yet sharply limited quantities.

Ratings

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Advocate (Feb. 2018) 96+ points
“The deep garnet-purple colored 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate opens with red and black cherries, dried mulberries and preserved plums with touches of Mediterranean herbs, earth and tar. Medium to full-bodied, firm and elegant in the mouth, it has great freshness and plenty of depth, finishing long and restrained. This should age beautifully!”

Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate (Oct. 2016) 94-96 points
“An early look at the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate (100% Cabernet Sauvignon) looks to be super. Think of a St.-Estèphe from Bordeaux (such as Calon Ségur) only riper, richer and one to two degrees higher in alcohol and you have the 2015 Seavey Estate Cabernet Sauvignon. Dense purple in color, with a big, sweet kiss of blackberry, earth, loamy soil and spice, the wine is layered, full-bodied, massive and rich. The wine looks for at least 35-40 years of cellaring. Unlike most 2015s, this one is going to require patience from potential buyers, as it will need a good 5-8 years of bottle age once it leaves its oak cooperage.”

Antonio Galloni, Vinous (Dec. 2016) 95+ points
“A wine of gravitas and pure power, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate captures the personality and complexity of this dramatic hillside site. Far from an easygoing 2015, the Estate is packed with intense fruit and equally formidable tannins that are going to require considerable bottle age to fully meld together…Time in the glass brings out hints of super-ripe black cherry, crème de cassis, lavender and spice.”

Jeb Dunnuck (Dec. 2017) 97+ points
“The flagship 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon comes all from estate fruit and spent 20 months in 55% new French oak. As classic and old-school as they come, with terrific cassis and blueberry fruits as well as scorched earth, graphite and lead pencil, this full-bodied 2015 has impeccable balance, building tannin, beautiful purity of fruit, and a great finish. There are a scant 400 cases produced but it’s certainly one of the most classic, age-worthy wines in the vintage.”

Vineyard Notes

Seavey’s 26th vintage of single-vineyard estate Cabernet Sauvignon comes from grapes grown on steep hillside blocks which we have been farming for nearly 40 years. The 2015 growing season was marked by generally warm weather, limited rainfall, and an early harvest. Reminiscent of Napa’s famous 2010 vintage, the resulting harvest was much smaller than average, yielding very concentrated wines with lots of personality.

Production Notes

In the cool of the early morning, we harvested our grapes each day as they matured, proceeding to separately vinify and age each vineyard block. Following classic Bordeaux methods, we promptly destemmed the berries and then gently transferred the whole berries into fermentation tanks. To carefully manage the tannins and resulting wine texture, the grapes were neither crushed nor run through a pump. Following fermentation, the wine was aged in French oak barrels for 20 months before bottling in June 2017.

100% ESTATE GROWN, PRODUCED & BOTTLED, NAPA VALLEY AVA