Winemaker Notes
The 2017 Hayfork Field Select is our more concentrated cabernet made with 10% of the ever pretty Lewelling Ranch Petit Verdot and our very favorite block of Clone 6 Cabernet. Its velvety frame is enlivened with plenty of floral character, black currants, dusty earth, cedar and a notable finish. This wine embodies our every effort to make beautiful wine.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Even better, the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Field Select is a smaller production release and is 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Petit Verdot, all from the Lewelling Ranch, that was brought up in new barrels. This stunning wine boasts a saturated purple color as well as blockbuster styled notes of crème de cassis, jammy blackberries, scorched earth, and subtle tobacco and underbrush-like nuances. From a great vineyard in St. Helena and a great winemaker, this is a no-brainer effort readers can enjoy any time over the coming 15+ years. There are a tiny 80 cases produced.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
From the Lewelling Ranch vineyard, the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Hayfork Field Select is made up of 90% Clone 6 Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Petit Verdot, aged 20 months in 100% new French oak. Deep garnet-purple colored, it is a little shy and subdued to begin, blossoming into pretty forest floor, dried flowers and dusty earth notions with a core of warm cassis, mulberries and boysenberries plus a hint of menthol. Medium to full-bodied, firm and solidly built, it has a taut, muscular, savory core and fragrant finish. Only 80 cases were made.
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.
St. Helena is in the heart of the Napa Valley, nestled between Calistoga to the north and Rutherford on its southern border. On its western side, the Mayacamas Mountains guard it from the cooling effects of the Pacific Ocean; to its east stand the Vaca Mountains. In conjunction, these mountain ranges serve to lock in summer daytime heat. But in the evening, cool air from the San Pablo Bay funnels up through the valley, creating very chilly nights. It isn’t uncommon for temperatures to drop 50 degrees, a shift that promotes a balance of sugar ripeness and acidity in wine grapes.
St. Helena contains a plethora of different soil types in a small area, which have been enhanced over centuries by rain runoff from both mountain ranges. Its vineyards cover a variety of terrain, spreading across the bucolic valley floor and its benchlands.
These ideal topographic and climatic growing conditions easily caught the attention of early winemaking pioneers. In fact, St. Helena is the birthplace of Napa Valley’s commercial wine industry. Dr. Crane founded his cellar in 1859, David Fulton in 1860 and Charles Krug in 1861.
Today there are no less than 400 separate vineyards planted within the 12,000 acres that make up the St. Helena appellation.
Revered most for its red wines based on Bordeaux varieties, namely Cabernet Sauvignon, the St. Helena appellation is also a source of superior Syrah, Zinfandel and Sauvignon blanc.