Winemaker Notes
Blend: 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The 2022 Relevant is a very polished wine for a difficult year. It's voluptuous in feel, layered with blackberry fruit, bittersweet chocolate, sweet pipe tobacco and dried herbs. Fermentation in concrete tank keeps things fresh. Powdery, cocoa-like tannins enshroud the finish, accented by a kiss of French oak spice.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Containing 10% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot, the 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Relevant leads with a refined, elegantly dusty nose of red and black fruits with cocoa powder, sweet tobacco and espresso accents. The palate is polished and energetic, concluding with a lush, creamy finish underscored by a touch of minerality and lingering with finessed, velvety tannins.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
On the eastern end of the Santa Ynez Valley, the rolling hills of the tiny Happy Canyon AVA produce top quality reds from Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Syrah and whites from Sauvignon blanc. The region’s low-nutrient soil grows smaller vines and in turn, higher quality wine grapes.