Silverado Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2004

Winemaker's Notes:

2004 Cabernet Sauvignon SOLO Technical Information Harvest Date: September 18 & 22 Varietal Composition: 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon Vineyard: 100 percent Stags Leap vineyard Appellation: Stags Leap District, Napa Valley Bottling Date: September, 2006 Release Date: September, 2007 Vintage Notes: Following wet February weather, warm March temperatures forced early budbreak, and unusually dry spring conditions, plus a brief heat spike at the end of April, hastened flowering and kept vine vigor under control. Summer was moderate until picking time, when a brief hot spell jump-started what had been a gradual, if early, beginning to the harvest. Vineyard Notes: On land that has supported vines since the 1880s, our vineyard was the third property planted to Cabernet Sauvignon in what became the Stags Leap District, and fruit from this property helped establish the area's reputation in the 1970s. SOLO is produced entirely from grapes grown in this vineyard, which stretches across the rocky terraces and gentle slopes between the Silverado Trail and the Napa River. It displays all the ripe and complex fruit, supple texture, and solid structure that helped define the District, the most distinctive Cabernet-growing region in the Napa Valley. Winemaking Notes: We picked at 25.3 Brix, with yields of 2.58 tons to the acre. Average 16 day maceration. The wine averaged 16 months in barrels, 32 percent new French oak. Overall blend - 85 percent French oak and 15 percent American. 1,446 cases were bottled. Analysis: Alcohol, 14.6%; titratable acidity, 5.80 grams per liter; pH, 3.63; volatile acidity, 0.54 grams per liter; residual sugar, dry. Tasting Notes: Aromas of plum, cocoa powder and cherry cola. The 2004 SOLO is full bodied with a broad mid-palate texture full of dense dark red fruit flavor. Silky tannins help give the wine a long and lingering finish.