Carol Shelton
2018 Cabernet Sauvignon
, Rockpile Reserve
Sonoma County

92 Points - Wine Enthusiast

Deep garnet core with aromas of crème de cassis, blackberry, dark chocolate and licorice mingle and swirl on the nose from this beautiful Cabernet.  The palate is equally gorgeous with extremely rich cookie, walnut, plum and cassis with a long smooth creamy vanilla finish.  This one is aged to perfection and ready to show off.

Crowd-pleasing wine, so go ahead and finish the bottle with grilled meat including New York strip, filet mignon, prime rib or your favorite meatloaf.

VINEYARD

The legendary Rockpile AVA (American Viticultural Area) is one of the most sought-after AVAs.  While Rockpile is one of the newest AVAs in California, receiving status over 20 years ago, the area has been referred to as Rockpile since the 1850's. Located in Northern Sonoma County, at the northwest corner of Dry Creek Valley, the Rockpile AVA encompasses nearly 15,000 acres, of which less than 160 are planted to vineyard. This makes Rockpile one of the smallest AVAs in the United States in terms of acreage planted.

WINEMAKER:  Carol Shelton
VARIETAL:  95% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petite Sirah
VINEYARD:  Rockpile Vineyard
APPELLATION:  Rockpile, Sonoma County
FERMENTATION:  20 days total on skins, including 4-day cold soak and 4 days extended maceration. Fermented in 0.8-ton T-bins (3 yeasts) & punched down by hand twice/day
AGING:  30 months in 100% new French oak
TA: 0.60 gm/100ml
pH: 3.60
VINTAGE:  2018
ALCOHOL:  14.27%

Tasting Notes  PDF

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