The 2015 vintage marks the 3rd bottling for us from the amazing Stagecoach Vineyards, Pritchard Hill Block I2B. This block lies just 2 miles south of iconic properties like Bryant Family and Colgin Cellars and a stone's throw from Ovid and Continuum. The site is characterized by volcanic and well-drained soils at high elevation.
We harvested our Cabernet Sauvignon from Block I2B on September 10th 5 days earlier than our 2014 vintage. With the grapes optimally balanced between phenolic ripeness, flavor development and acidity the fruit was sorted, de-stemmed and cold-soaked for 2 days before undergoing native yeast fermentation and a 17-day maceration in stainless steel tank. The wine was aged in 100% French oak barrels (50% new) for 22 months before bottling.
Characterized by early spring frost, drought and heat spikes leading into harvest, the 2015 growing season resulted in low yields of exceptional quality grapes throughout the Napa Valley. As we see these wines come to market in limited numbers the tight allocations are offset by immense quality.