2015 Block Twenty-One Cabernet Sauvignon
The opinion of many is that 2015 was an excellent vintage, although drought conditions were all that was talked about for most of the year. Early dry conditions lead to an early bud break. The growing season was warm, dry and for most of the period, mild. It was the early bud break and relatively light crop that made 2015 one of the earliest harvests on record. It was certainly the earliest harvest for Trione as we began bringing in grapes for sparkling on August 12th and finished with the last of the Flatridge Zinfandel the first week of October.
Cases produced: 1,154 six-packs
Tasting Room Retail price: $69
Appellation: Alexander Valley
Winemaking
This wine is a classic Bordeaux blend of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Malbec, 8% Merlot and 2% each of Cabernet Franc, Petite Verdot. The 2015 growing season was moderate, thus promoting slow ripening and full flavor development. We hand-harvested and fermented each variety separately, then moved the wines to barrel, where they aged twelve months. Once we determined our blend, we returned the wine to barrel for an additional twelve months, to ‘marry’ the varietals. We used tight grained French oak barrels (40% new) from coopers Quintessence, Sylvain and Bossuet.
Winemaker Tasting Notes
The Trione 2015 Block 21 Cabernet Sauvignon is reminiscent of a classic left bank Bordeaux, silky, Cab dominate but balanced, textured and lingering on the palate. Aromas and flavors of currants and black raspberry pie are in the mind and on the nose. This wine is age worthy and will continue to develop for the next 5-10 years.
