ORIGIN: We are pleased to announce the inaugural release of EPITOME created from a tiny block of our hillside Pine Ridge Estate Vineyard in the Stags Leap District. The evolution of EPITOME represents the culmination of more than two decades of research in matching the terroir of the Stags Leap District with the best clones of Bordeaux varietals, low vigor rootstocks, and meticulous vine management.
VINEYARD: This distinctive block of our Pine Ridge Estate Vineyard is planted with clone #7 cabernet sauvignon on rootstock #3309, and faces south, absorbing the afternoon sun which makes it one of the warmest areas within the winery site. Our densely-planted, narrow-spaced hillside vineyards here in the Stags Leap District grow more than 2,000 vines per acre in one of the world’s most unique mesoclimates.
WINEMAKING: The fruit was hand harvested in September 1996. The wine underwent 32 days of extended maceration and aged for more than 19 months in new French oak barrels. The wine was neither fined nor filtered prior to bottling in July 1998.
ORIGINAL TASTING NOTES: This wine, with its wonderfully dark, opaque claret hue, reveals an extremely Bordelaise nose. Unlike most cabernet blends from the Stags Leap District, EPITOME shies away from predominant black cherry. You’ll find intense currants, blackberry, yellow tobacco and cedar in this medium-bodied blend. Flavors are complex with hints of forest floor, dried blueberries, tobacco and spice cedar complemented with a long, powerful, persistent finish of cedar and currants.
CURRENT TASTING NOTES: The 1996 Epitome Cabernet Sauvignon is showing bold, ripe black cherry and red berry aromas and flavors. The tannins are softening with age but the body remains well balanced with a long-lasting finish. Drink now through 2010.
FOOD PAIRINGS: Stuffed Squab with Cipollini Onions & Squash Puree, Grilled Filet Mignon with a Red Wine Reduction and Porcini Mushroom Gratinée, or Bittersweet Chocolate by the pound!
This vintage produced 305 cases.
Tell a friend about this wine
|
Back to Library Wines
Next Wine
