Kenwood Artist Series Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

This vintage of Kenwood Vineyards' Artist Series exhibits the complex and intense flavors for which the wine has become famous. The bouquet begins with fruity aromas of dried cherries, blueberries and cassis and is followed by spicy aromatic notes of sage and sassafras. The mouthfeel of the wine is full bodied with well-structured tannins, flavors of pomegranate and hints of vanilla. This wine is delicious now and should continue to improve for at least a decade.

The 2006 Vintage marks the 32nd release of Artist Series Cabernet Sauvignon from Kenwood Vineyards. The 2006 growing season began with a wet and cool spring, followed by a warm and dry summer. In late September and early October, the weather cooled and we harvested the Cabernet Sauvignon that produced this year's Artist Series blend. After picking, the grapes were crushed and fermented in stainless steel tanks and then settled and racked twice before going down to barrels in December of 2006. After 28 months of barrel aging, the very best lots were carefully selected, blended and bottled. After bottling, the wine was aged for an additional year and a half before it was released.

Each year since the 1975 vintage, our winemakers taste individual barrels of our finest lots of Cabernet Sauvignon at the end of aging and select only the best to become part of the Artist Series blend. The result is a true "reserve" wine that represents less than 2 percent of our Cabernet Sauvignon production.

Blend: 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Malbec, 7% Cabernet Franc, 6% Petit Verdot

About the Artist, Sylvia Ji
Born in 1982, a native of San Francisco, Sylvia Ji's artistic ability is akin to another time and place. Her work encapsulates an alluring beauty that is both cutting edge and a nod to a time-honored technique. Hauntingly beautiful images brimming with provocation mix with a sense of consternation, hinting that all is not as well as it may initially appear.