Since 1975 Alexander Valley Vineyards has been known for world class Cabernet Sauvignon. To celebrate our history with Cabernet Sauvignon we selected a single barrel of Cabernet Sauvignon for this special bottling. Fans across the country refer to us as “AVV”, so they will easily recognize this ultra-premium wine by the logo on the front of this silk screened bottle.
The 2014 growing season was very similar to 2013. The ongoing drought combined with a mild winter and spring caused an early bud break, but the overall length of the growing season was similar to past years. The lack of rain didn’t impact our fruit due to the growing season’s moderate temperatures and the grapes ripened evenly. While news of the drought dominated conversations everywhere, there was an upside; the grapes had rich, concentrated flavors, much like the 2013s.
Winemaker Kevin Hall reserves the best lots of Cabernet Sauvignon for CYRUS and Alexander School Reserve wines, this was his favorite barrel of 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon. Like the 2013, this wine was produced from a single thirty-five year old vineyard with gnarly, mature vines that produced loose clusters of pea sized grapes with one or two seeds. The wine aged for 36 months in a single new French oak tight grain barrel to slowly release the complexities and further develop the nuances.
This deep purple hued wine has intense aromatics of cassis, plum, black cherry, vanilla, blueberry and chocolate. There are ripe fruit flavors of red and black cherry, blueberry and red plum. Great acidity balances the red fruits and long finish of this once in a lifetime selection.