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Snowden Vineyards

2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Brothers Vineyard

The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon from the Brothers Vineyard is classic in style and elegant in balance.  Winemaker Diana Snowden Seysses likes its “energy and cut” featuring notes of “plums, black cherries, blood orange, and graphite."  On the heels of with a winter of very low rainfall, the growing season was otherwise ideal, with the moderate, even temperatures historically typifying the Napa Valley growing season.  The dry year featured smaller clusters and berries, so a higher skin to juice ratio, resulting in increased richness – but also an ideal balance among the fruit, tannins, and other acids.  The Cabernet Sauvignon was harvested on September 12 and blended with 1% Petit Verdot picked on September 30.  Fermented by wild, native yeasts, the wine was aged for 19 months in French oak, 30% new, and bottled in May of 2023.  332 cases of 750 mL bottles were produced, plus 180 magnums, 6 jeroboams, and 3 methuselas.

Continues to be available for a limited time only by direct purchase
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$110.00
 
SKU: SNCS21
Wine Specs
Vintage
2021
Varietal
Cabernet Sauvignon
Appellation
Napa Valley
Vineyard Designation
Brothers Vineyard
Harvest Date
Cabernet Sauvignon September 12, 2021; Petit Verdot September 30, 2021, 2021
Aging
19 months in French oak, 30% new 70% two years old
Bottling Date
May 4, 2023
Residual Sugar
Fermented dry, no residual sugar
Alcohol %
15.0
Wine Profile
Vineyard Notes
The 2021 growing season began with very little water in the soils and continued to walk a fine line, right at the edge of the rainfall required to meet the physiological needs of the vines. Spring was mild and clear, so flowering unfolded under ideal conditions. Low rain resulted in short shoot growth and little little work to do in the “passes” to remove lateral shoots and then leaves. Fortunately, there were no heat spikes or drying offshore winds -- a heat wave would have been disastrous for the crop in such a dry year. The crop was light, with small clusters and tiny berries. The reds began coming in with the Merlot on September 6; the first Cabernet Sauvignon came in on September 11. Overall, yields were 30% to 60% below average, depending on the block, but the fruit quality was superb, giving us wines intense with nerve and style.
Winemaker Notes
With tiny berries and clusters, the 2021 Brothers is a dense, concentrated expression of this classic, two acre, Cabernet Sauvignon site. The bouquet greets you with brooding aromas of tobacco, violets and dried plums. The wine has energy and cut. Plums, black cherries, blood orange and graphite unfold on the palate and persist in chiselled precision. The structure of the Brothers Vineyard is always organized along a linear track. The 2021 is just so, but made more energetic with a citrus rind top note. If you choose to enjoy the wine immediately, please decant ahead of your meal. If you prefer to cellar your wines, the 2021 Brothers has decades of life ahead of it.