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Producer: Rubicon Estate Cask Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage: 2002
Vintage Notes:
2002 is recognized as a California powerhouse. Dry, sunny days with plenty of
fog in late summer defined a growing season that was as close to perfect as one
could imagine. Throughout the harvest months of September and October, high
pressure conditions created the typical Indian summer that pushed temperatures
well into the 90s. This late season warm spell resulted in unparalleled ripeness and
extraordinary color and tannin.
Winemaking Notes:
The 2002 vintage is significant because it marks the first year this wine was made in
our new winemaking facility inside the Chateau. This fermentation cellar, which
we've named the Rubicon Winery, features traditional 5-ton and 6-ton Taransaud
French oak fermentors. We used a photograph taken during the 1950s Inglenook
era as a blueprint for construction. Keeping the original catwalks, we positioned
our wooden casks and designed a gravity flow system that modeled the structure
Gustave Niebaum used more than a century ago.
Made exclusively from organically-farmed Cabernet Sauvignon, Cask is pumped
over four-to-five times a day to encourage vigorous fermentation for the first four
days of the fermentation process. For the next week, the pump-overs slow to once
or twice a day. This process maximizes the extraction of vibrant color and optimal
flavor from the must. Upon completion of the fermentation process, the freerun
juice is drained directly into 500-L American oak puncheons for twenty-four
months of aging. This technique allows us to craft a Cabernet that reflects the
style John Daniel, Jr. achieved when making his Inglenook Cask wines.
Tasting Notes: The 2002 Rubicon Estate Cask Cabernet Sauvignon presents a bright shade of
violet and offers an arresting perfume of wild raspberries, red cherries, and cola.
A velvety texture with modest tannin frames long, luscious flavors of cherry, cassis,
cocoa and French vanilla. Enjoy the 2002 Cask Cabernet now while firm and ripe
or cellar it for 5-7 years to garner additional complexity.
Suggested List Price: $65.00
Style: CABERNET
Region: NAPA VALLEY
Country: USA
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