Tasting notes
The 2019 Reserve Malbec is deep and rich, with expressive notes of boysenberry pie, black plum, and acai berry, along with hints of baking spice. On the palate, it is plush and approachable, with blackberry, dark raspberry, and delicate floral notes, supported by warm creamy caramel. This multilayered wine interweaves fine-grained tannins and a silky texture perfectly.
Technical information
Vintage
2019
Varietal
Malbec
Appellation
Napa Valley
Alcohol
14.9%
Winemaking
Fruit was optically sorted, selecting only the highest quality fruit for fermentation in stainless vessels. Fruit was allowed to ferment for up to 12 days with regular pump-overs to extract deep color and rich flavors. The wine was then gently pressed, racked, and aged for 16 months in a combination of French (86%) and Hungarian (14%) oak, 62% new. Individual barrels were selected after aging that best reflected the vintage and the expression of the Malbec grape.
Vintage
After a damp late winter and spring, the 2019 California vintage started one to two weeks later than normal, followed by cool temperatures that allowed the grapes to mature gradually. Owing to the extended, cool growing season, wine grapes ripened slowly with full flavors and superb balance.
Vineyard
Fruit for this vintage comes principally from the Bale Lane Vineyard in St. Helena, where rocky Bale loam soils combined with a steady string of warm days lead to clusters that offer round and fruity expressions, perfect for Malbec, which thrives in both warm and cool climates.