Winemaker Notes
The 2021 La Storia Cab has a dense ruby-purple color followed by abundant varietal aromas and flavors of blueberries, blackberry, and black licorice with hint of herbs and ripe olives. The French oak aging contributes aromas of vanilla, cocoa dust and slight toast. The mouth feel is medium dense, fresh and juicy with balanced acidy and very soft tannins for a young wine.
Blend: 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 5% Malbec, 1% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
A bold and warmly spiced wine, this bottle wraps gentle tannins around superripe and chocolaty flavors for a mouth filling and supple effect. Cinnamon, cloves and mint decorate the juicy black cherry and blueberry flavors.
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.