Rubicon Estate / Niebaum-Coppola Rubicon(2000)

The 2000 vintage was defined by a temperate summer and a later than usual harvest. But it is precisely these conditions that reward those who are patient. Once fall arrived, as typical with Napa Valley weather patterns, temperatures pushed well into the 90s with perfect autumn days. A few days of spiking heat made some anxious to pick, but we just waited. Harvest began about two weeks later than normal, with the best weather reserved for Cabernet Sauvignon.