2019 Cakebread Cabernet Sauvignon Benchland Select, Napa Valley, California, USA

The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Benchland Select is another gem, offering lots of cassis and darker cherry fruits as well as notes of lead pencil and crushed stone. Flawlessly balanced, medium to full-bodied, and as elegant and seamless as they come, it’s already impossible to resist (as are most 2019s) but I’ve no doubt this will evolve for 15-20 years in cold cellars.

Benchland Select is a special blend of five clones of Cabernet Sauvignon from two superior vineyards in the gently sloping western benchlands of Rutherford and Oakville. These vineyards benefit from cool afternoon shade provided by the Mayacamas Mountains, allowing the grapes to mature at a slow, even pace, and gravelly loam soils affording excellent drainage. Each lot is gently destemmed and fermented separately in small stainless steel tanks designed to maximize color, flavor and tannin extraction.

100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Aged 22 months in French oak barrels, 60% new