2019 Precision Cabernet
2019 Precision Cabernet; Napa Valley, USA
Cabernet grapes for this gem are sourced from the stellar Aetna Springs Vineyard in Napa’s Pope Valley. On the back side of Howell Mountain this warm region is known for growing ripe, rich Cabernet. The wine is 90% Cabernet Sauvignon softened with 10% Merlot sourced from vineyards in Calistoga and Oak Knoll. The wine was aged in 60% new oak barrels for 20 months with a combination of 40% French, 10% American, 10% German and the other 40% neutral.
This is oozing with ripe flavors. It shows blackberry, black currants, cherry, blueberry and baking spice notes from the oak. The tannins are fine grained offering an energized mouthfeel with good balanced acidity lifting the flavors. The finish extends with berry, cocoa and spice notes lingering.
Cabernet Sauvignon is probably the most famous red wine grape variety on Earth. It is rivaled in this regard only by its Bordeaux stablemate Merlot, and its opposite number in Burgundy, Pinot Noir. From its origins in Bordeaux, Cabernet has successfully spread to almost every winegrowing country in the world. It is now the key grape variety in many first-rate New World wine regions, most notably Napa Valley, Coonawarra and Maipo Valley. Wherever they come from, Cabernet Sauvignon wines always seem to demonstrate a handful of common character traits: deep color, good tannin structure, moderate acidity and aromas of blackcurrant, tomato leaf, dark spices and cedarwood.
Napa Valley, an hour’s drive north of San Francisco, California, is the most famous and prestigious wine region anywhere in the New World. Although a number of grape varieties are grown in the valley’s vineyards, the area is particularly known for its Cabernet Sauvignon. The classic “Napa Cab”, the archetypal Napa Valley wine, is a rich, oak-aged red with aromas of blackcurrant, boysenberry, liquorice, vanilla and smoky, bittersweet chocolate.