Winemaker Notes
The wine is very aromatic with notes of mint, blueberry and black fruits. Deep flavors of black cherry are balanced with well endowed, but fine grained tannins. There is excellent balance and a persistent finish. It is very approachable and ready for either early consumption or long term cellaring. The Blue Rock style is one of elegance and restraint rather than heavy and highly extracted and weighs in at only 14.1%. We strive for a wine that has a solid structure and lots of flavor, yet, without the heaviness that one associates with many modern-day California Cabernets.
This is a balanced but rich wine and deserves a steak or lamb to complement the velvety tannins.
Blend : 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Malbec
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
Nearly a northern extension of Napa Valley, Alexander Valley starts just north of the small, Knights Valley, and is just a few minutes drive from the Napa town of Calistoga. It is Sonoma County’s hottest AVA. But the Russian River, which runs through the valley, creates cooler pockets and its soft, alluvial soil is ideal for grape growing, especially Cabernet Sauvignon. In fact, some believe that Alexander Valley Cabernets truly rival the best from Napa Valley and many of the heavy-hitter producers have largely invested here.
In addition to Cabernet Sauvignon, which makes up over 50% of plantings, Merlot and old vine Zinfandel thrive here. Ample, fleshy Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc dominate white wine production. Some old-vine plantings of Grenache have also been discovered and more recent experiments with Sangiovese and Barbera show great promise.