Pine Ridge Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2018
Founded in 1978 by Gary Andrus, Pine Ridge Vineyards sits in the heart of the Stags Leap District of Napa Valley, famous for Cabernet Sauvignon wines of distinctive power and elegance. They strive to produce the best cabernet sauvignon in Napa Valley.
Today, the winery owns estate vineyards in five premier Napa Valley appellations: Stags Leap District, Howell Mountain, Oakville, Rutherford, and Carneros. Everyone on their team, from vineyard to cellar, is united in the desire to create wines that honour their remarkable origins with a unique expression.
The fruit for the 2018 vintage was harvested from September 15th to October 15th. The grapes were hand-picked at night, carefully sorted in the vineyard, then brought to the cellar and de-stemmed. This meticulous care taken in the vineyard by Vineyard Manager Gustavo Alvina and his crew delivered bright, ripe fruit, with substantial mouthfeel and complexity. Following a cold soak, a high-temperature fermentation occurred to ensure maximum flavour and colour extraction. The wine was racked to 30% of new American oak barrels and aged for 18 months prior to bottling. 70% was aged in neutral French Oak to maintain the freshness and elegance of the vintage.
The 2018 growing season started with a cool spring with significantly higher than average frost hours (a measurement of hours below 36 F), which led to a late bud break. The growing season was also unique in terms of GDD (growing degree days), with 14% fewer on average than in 2017. The cooler mild conditions and lack of extreme heat spikes combined to create an extended growing season and measured pace to harvest which resulted in a high-quality, elegant crop with brighter acids and notes of cranberry, pomegranate and tart cherry.
This Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon leads with pencil shavings and cola aromas. On the palate, cherry, sweet vanilla cream and strawberry share the bill, alongside dusty tannins and a lasting finish that reminds of toasted nuts. This wine is enticing now and will drink well for at least 5 years.