2019 Cabernet Sauvignon

Tasting Notes

Elegant and refined, the 2019 Seavey Cabernet Sauvignon features flavors of black plum, iron, and cola in perfect balance with its tannins. Hints of pepper and grilled meat generously coat the palate, enhanced by aromas of blackberry-pie filling, cassis, with a touch of toasted walnut. These flavors lift and expand into an alluringly long finish. A full-bodied yet focused wine, winemaker Jim Duane says this vintage of our flagship Cabernet Sauvignon’s expression is “classic Seavey” in style. This wine is incredible now but is sure to gracefully soften with age offering those with patience the ultimate reward.

Ratings

Vineyard Notes

Seavey’s 29th vintage of single-vineyard estate Cabernet Sauvignon comes exclusively from grapes grown on our steep hillside blocks, which we have now been farming for over forty years. The 2019 growing season began with a wet winter carrying through to late spring, allowing for a lavish canopy. During the summer we managed the canopy to allow the sunshine from our high degree days to reach the berries, advancing ripening. The late summer provided temperate growing conditions and ample hang time with steady sun during the day and cooler marine influences at night. The Cabernet grapes were harvested in late September and early October.

Production Notes

Following classic Bordeaux methods, we separately harvest and vinify each vineyard block. In the cool of the early morning, grapes from our 2019 harvest were promptly de-stemmed, and the uncrushed berries were gently transferred into fermentation tanks to carefully manage the tannins and resulting wine texture. Whole-berry fermentation was met with ongoing power shut-offs, leading the cellar crew to continue fermentations using power from our tractor-run generator. Following fermentation, the wine was aged in French oak barrels (65% new) for 20 months before bottling in June 2021.

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