2020 Millennium MM Vyd Cabernet Sauvignon

RUTHERFORD, NAPA VALLEY
$125.00 per bottle   /   $106.25 club price
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95 Points, Wine Enthusiast
94 Points, Decanter
93 Points, James Suckling
93 Points, Wine Independent
92+ Points, Wine Advocate
92 Points, Wine Spectator

This 2020 Millennium MM Vineyard is a powerful example of Cabernet Sauvignon. Its color is as black as night and the nose bursts with black plums, cherry cola, black olives and hints of dark chocolate. Its balance and mid-palate are most notable, providing deep and unctuous tannins alongside its intense fruit character. On the palate, it delivers rich and sweet black fruits, chocolatey tannins, fresh black currants, crème de cassis, fennel, cedar, vanilla and a dusty earth tone. The beautiful underlying tannin structure, complexity, and ample fruit will evolve over time and age gracefully for 15-20 years.

WINEMAKER NOTES

Upon hand harvesting in the early morning hours, our Cabernet Sauvignon were carefully destemmed and sent to tank for a whole-berry fermentation.  The grapes were cold-soaked in tank at 45˚F for 4-7 days, allowing for increased color, aroma and flavor extraction. After inoculation with a select yeast, the grape must (juice, skins and seeds) fermented at 82˚F, which allowed for a hot extraction on the skins.  For fermentation cap management, we pumped juice over the skins two times per day, wetting the cap evenly for a nice healthy fermentation. After fermentation and pressing, the wine was sent to 75% new French oak, 25% neutral French oak barrels, aging for 26 months.  The final blend for the Millennium MM Vineyard is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon and was bottled unfined and unfiltered.

 

THE VINTAGE

The 2020 vintage was a long and warm growing season, seasoned by a drought, which can often lead to a fantastic vintage.  Bud break began in late March, leading to a Spring that had few showers and was relatively dry.  Summer was steady, with heat spikes that pushed the vintage closer and closer. As we headed into Autumn, harvest was upon us quickly and we moved swiftly to bring in all our grapes to process and finish the season. The Cabernet Sauvignon clones in this wine are 169, 30 and 4, which provide a great deal of structure and richness to the final blend.

WINE FACTS

Winemaker: Jason Moulton 

Appellation: Rutherford, Millennium MM Vineyard 

Blend: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon

Alcohol: 14.9%