DEBUT VINTAGE!

Born from fire and magmatic rock, Igneous Cabernet Sauvignon pays homage to the volcanic nature of Calistoga. Situated at the gateway of the Napa River headwaters and the alluvial base of Mount Saint Helena, we find magmatic forces that jettison healing hot springs, mineral rich soils, and a slightly warmer than average growing environment.  Ideal conditions for producing perfection in the glass.

This wine begins with wonderful purple color and aromatics that fall within the black fruit spectrum. Blackberry preserve and currant syrup fill the senses and pique curiosity. As this wine opens up, the background notes of sweet vanillin and earth come forth. The palate is silky and polished with a wonderful glide from start to finish. Cassis, anise, dried currant, blackberry and black cherry are all intertwined. The acid and tannins are perfectly balanced, creating a savory texture that causes a desire for more. Delicious!

This wine will drink its best from 2022 through 2032.

In the Vineyard

The 2019 vintage is turning out to be an impressive effort from a number of vineyards throughout the Calistoga AVA. The warm, dry growing environment and less than average water content in the area forces us to consider strict conservation measures as it relates to watering regimens in the area. The resulting vineyard locations in the area are as to close to dry farmed as a grower can experience in the valley. The small berry sets lead to excellent skin to pulp ratios and out ripeness (high sugar content) with fruit maturity (see ripeness). Balancing these factors becomes our pursuit of perfection in the vineyard from this challenging environment. We selected a handful of vineyard locations throughout the Calistoga AVA to create our first vintage of this wine. The backbone, or base, of this wine comes from our Calistoga Estate, where the cane pruned vines are comprised of Cabernet Clones #7 and #8.

In the Cellar

The fruit was destemmed utilizing our state-of-the-art Pellenc three-stage sorting system into a combination of open top and concrete fermenters. We allowed 100% native primary fermentation under cool, balanced conditions to take place over a lengthy 27 to 31 days. The fruit was then lightly pressed, keeping free-run and press fractions separate and aged in 85% new, tight grained French Oak barrels for a total of 19 months. Bottled unfiltered.