2010 Swanson Vineyards Instant Napa Cabernet

Winery Notes:

Vintage: Normal winter and spring precipitation levels, coupled with cool early season temperatures set the tone for a season with nicely paced shoot growth and fruit development. June was warm, while July and August were cool. September   and October provided just enough heat to ripen our Cabernet and Merlot grapes, but only because we severely limited the fruit production for every grapevine by thinning our crop several times. We hand-harvested quickly in the cold early mornings over a 4-week period, bringing in each lot when we felt it had achieved its highest potential of quality.

Vineyard:

 Long-term relationships with a number of Napa Valley growers enabled us to carefully select small blocks of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot for this inaugural release of Instant Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. Cabernet sources are: George Schenecker’s Manley Lane vineyard, adjacent to our winery in Rutherford, Swanson Oakville Cross Road Estate, and Larry Bettinelli’s Sleeping Lady Vineyard, at the base of the Mayacamas range in Yountville. The Merlot grapes were grown at Ron Taddei’s Vineyard and our Oakville Cross

Road Estate, both in the heart of Oakville. The Petit Verdot is from a small parcel at the La Monica Vineyard in the Oak Knoll appellation.

Winemaker Notes:

The color is a deep violet-hued opaque ruby-red. Aromas of espresso, ripe black cherries abound, with just a touch of herb de Provenance in the background. The wine is full-bodied on the palate, with medium-grained tannins and considerable viscosity. Black cherry and blackberry emerge during the long, lingering finish. The 2010 Instant Napa Cabernet Sauvignon was not fined or filtered, thereby preserving its seamless texture and flavor intensity. Optimum drinkability for this wine: 2015 – 2022

Composition: 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 5% Petite Verdot

Brix at Harvest 25.7° average

Alcohol: 14.8%

Barrel Regime: 19 months in 100% French oak barrels (60% new) Malolactic fermentation in barrel

20 day average maceration on skins

Bottling: May 2011

Case production: 713 cases (12x750ml)