2021 Block 21 Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley
Three generations farming premium wine grapes across five estate ranches for over four decades, the Trione family produce small lot, hand-crafted wines showcasing the best fruit from our vineyards.
Tasting Notes
Deep and expressive, with aromas of black cherry, graphite, and a savory hint of soy sauce, layer with herbaceous intrigue. The palate is rich yet refined, showcasing boysenberry and dried cherry wrapped in alluring tannins and seamless oak integration. A bold, structured finish leaves a lasting impression.
Retail: $80
Vineyard
Located at the northern terminus of the Alexander Valley, Cloverdale Ranch is home to Block 21, a three-acre parcel and the namesake of our Cabernet Sauvignon. The ranch is 135 total planted acres sitting between the eastern bank of the Russian River and the western slopes of the Mayacamas mountains. With some of the warmest temperatures in the area, the grapes growing here easily reach full maturity, lending to wines with immense concentration and complexity. The soils are a mix of gravel deposits left by the Russian River and alluvial fans formed by centuries of erosion and runoff from the Mayacamas. Certified Sustainable in 2017 (CCSW)
38°48’18.8″N 122°59’28.7″W
Vintage
The season started out cool then became mild with very few heat spikes. The weeks were consistently warm causing many varietals to ripen at the same time. The crop load across all varieties was slightly lighter than average which hastened ripening in all Sonoma County appellations. For most, it was a welcome trend back to normalcy. Trione’s harvest began the last week in August and finished the first week in October; six weeks in total. The fruit quality was exceptional with great flavor.
Winemaking
We carefully hand-harvested this special block and fermented the grapes in open-top tanks, then moved the wine to barrel where it aged for twelve months on new, tight-grain French oak. An additional 12 months was spent on a combination of 1- and 2-year-old barrels until the wine was racked and bottled.
Oak: 100% French | Aging: 24 months
