2005 Sonoma County
Cabernet Sauvignon
Sonoma County
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The Vineyards
For this wine, we sourced our Cabernet Sauvignon from three Sonoma County sub-appellations known for their outstanding quality grapes and long-lived wines: Dry Creek Valley , Alexander Valley and Sonoma Valley . In keeping with classic Bordeaux style, we combined small amounts of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Malbec and Petite Sirah into the Cabernet Sauvignon in order to give the wine balance and complexity in aromatics and flavors.
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The Vintage
2005 was a late harvest for Cabernet Sauvignon due late budbreak, budbreak, higher yields, and a mild, foggy summer and fall. These were also conditions creating lots of fruit and more tea-like Cabernet Sauvignon expressions. Fortunately, the Indian summer kicked in the 2 nd week of October, and this enabled Cabernet to fully ripen without green flavors. Harvest dates, from September 23 rd to November 10 th, were extended in this cool year, allowing us to be highly selective in our fruit sourcing and to let the fruit remain on the vine for maximum flavor extraction.
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Winemaking
We crushed and fermented in stainless steel tanks for seven to fifteen days, using a specific yeast strain designed to preserve bright fruit aromas and flavors and build a full body. The wine was aged in a combination of new and one-year-old American oak, with a small percentage of two- and three-year-old Hungarian and French oak used as well for a balance of toasty notes and rich tannins. After ten months in barrel, the wine was blended with the Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Malbec and Petite Sirah and allowed to age further to marry the tannins, aromas and flavors.
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Winemaker’s Notes
This dark garnet-colored wine has black tea and black cherry aromas with hints of cigar box and mocha from barrel aging. Full-bodied, with silky tannins and a hint of juicy blackberry, this wine is well balanced with flavors of cedar, raspberry and cocoa. The finish is long, carried by the toasty oak, forest floor character and structured tannins that promise this wine’s potential in the next several years. Enjoy now, cherishing the fine grained tannins and full body, or cellaring up to five years for a softening of the tannins and emergence of more spice, leather, vanilla and chocolate notes.
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Mark R. Lyon, Winemaker |
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| Technical Data |
| Appellation: |
Sonoma County |
Composition: |
84.2% Cabernet Sauvignon; 2.7% Petite Sirah; 5% Malbec; 4.5% Merlot; 1.4% Cabernet Franc; 2.2% Petit Verdot |
| Cooperage: |
Aged 12 months in mostly American oak barrels |
Alcohol: |
13.8% |
| TA: |
0.56 g/100mll
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pH: |
3.60 |
| Bottling Date" |
June 2006 |
Release Date: |
July 2007 |
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Past Vintages (downloadable pdf files):
2004
2003
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Awards and Acclaim:
2005 Vintage
Gold Medal from San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition 2008
Four Stars and Great Value from Restaurant Wine : "A medium righ supple, lightly oaky Cabernet, with good depth of flavor (blackberry, aniseed, cedar, tobacco) and a very long finish. Great Value!"
87 Points from Wine Spectator
2004 Vintage
Gold Medal and Best of Class from Sonoma County Harvest Fair 2007
Gold Medal from West Coast Wine Competition 2007
Gold Medal from Dallas Morning News Wine Competition 2007
2003 Vintage
Five Stars-Exceptional from Restaurant Wine : "Great Value! Supple and medium rich, this is a complex wine, with good depth of fruit, moderate oakiness and a long finish. It tastes of black currant, toasted oak, cedar and plum."
2002 Vintage
90 Points and Smart Buy--#77 of Top 100 Wines of 2006 from Wine Spectator: "This skillfully balanced wine combines ripe, fleshy Cabernet fruit with light cedar and mocha-scented oak, letting the currant, plum and black cherry fruit shine through. A delight to drink now and over the next few years. Drink now through 2009." $17 - Savvy Shopper "It seems like California's great Cabernet estates have struck gold with the 2002 vintage. The top wines are what you might expect: high-scoring and expensive. However, the Sebastiani Cabernet is a fleshy, balanced red with cedar shading its currant and plum notes. It's a great value in California Cabernet and there's plenty of it. For that, it's a Smart Buy."
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