2016 Caravina Cabernet
2016 Caravina Cabernet
“Brought up in one-third new oak, it boasts a deep purple color as well as brilliant notes of black fruits, ground herbs, charcoal embers, and graphite. The goal with this cuvée is to make a more upfront, earlier-drinking wine, and while it’s certainly more approachable than the straight Cabernet Sauvignon, this puppy has depth, structure, and length, and is a beautiful wine in its own right.” –Jeb Dunnuck (Jan. 2019) 94 points
Tasting Notes
Seavey’s 2016 Caravina is a deep and rich wine with beautiful aromas, nuance and depth. It opens with a truly decadent nose of espresso-infused chocolate, fresh cigars, dark fruits, and cured meats. On the palate, the wine’s savory essence melds with a luscious baked fruit compote laced with pomegranate, supported by bold, rustic tannins. This full-bodied yet refined wine is reminiscent of the epic 2013 Caravina but with softer curves.
Ratings
“The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Caravina is one of the most distinctive Napa Valley wines in its price range, or any price range, for that matter. Pliant, deep and expressive, with superb fruit density, the Caravina punches well above its weight. Mineral and savory notes add shades of nuance to a core of resonant dark red cherry fruit. All the elements are impeccably balanced.”
“Brought up in one-third new oak, it boasts a deep purple color as well as brilliant notes of black fruits, ground herbs, charcoal embers, and graphite. The goal with this cuvée is to make a more upfront, earlier-drinking wine, and while it’s certainly more approachable than the straight Cabernet Sauvignon, this puppy has depth, structure, and length, and is a beautiful wine in its own right.”
Vineyard Notes
Seavey’s 18th vintage of our Caravina Cabernet, comes entirely from grapes grown on the steep hillside blocks of our estate which we have now been farming for 40 years. The 2016 growing season was marked by ideal weather. It started off warm but July and August were mild, resulting in a long growing season with lots of hang-time allowing the grapes to progress to perfect ripeness.
Production Notes
Seavey separately harvests, vinifies and ages each vineyard block of our grapes. Our winemaking follows classic Bordeaux methods with whole-berry fermentation. In the cool of the early morning harvest, grapes from our 2016 harvest were promptly de-stemmed and the uncrushed berries were gently transferred into fermentation tanks. In order to carefully manage the tannins and resulting wine texture, the grapes were neither crushed nor run through a pump. Following whole-berry fermentation, the wine was aged in French oak barrels (43% new) for 20 months before bottling in June 2018.
100% ESTATE GROWN, PRODUCED & BOTTLED, NAPA VALLEY AVA
- Appellation
- Napa Valley
- Blend
- 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Petit Verdot, 3% Merlot
- Production
- 1,658 Cases
- Barrels
- 100% French Oak (43% new)
- Cellaring
- 2019 - 2037
- Bottling Date
- June 2018
- Alcohol %
- 14.5
- Winemaking Team
- Jim Duane & Philippe Melka
