Winemaker Notes
Their Rockpile Cabernet is beautifully detailed on the nose, with perfumed notes of black cherries, dried violets, loganberry, dusty iron red earth, shaved cocoa bean, woodsmoke, coastal dried underbrush and anise. Its vibrant and energetic entry leads to the expected full-bodied expression of a Rockpile Cabernet Sauvignon. This vintage is also defined by a delicious, sophisticated and tailored tannin profile, concluding in a superb multi-layered finish with a candied fruit element that’s seductive and even more rewarding with aeration. Enjoy it over the next 15+ years.
Blend: 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Malbec, 3% Petit Verdot, 1% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Pouring an inky purple/red color, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Rockpile Ridge Vineyard boasts ripe aromas of tarry earth, resinous tobacco, black plum, and cedar. This full-bodied red retains very nice fresh acidity, sweet tannins, and a clean finish. It’s a very charming and ripe wine that‘s going to age well over the next 8-10 years.
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.
High elevation vineyards—800 to 2,100 feet—on well-drained soils of red and brown clay loam, gravel and large rock outcroppings produce low yields of intense, high-quality fruit. Surrounded by Northern Sonoma County and overlapping Dry Creek Valley in its northwest corner, the Rockpile AVA produces some of California most powerful Zinfandel, Petit Sirah, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon based wines.