Cakebread Benchland Select Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Benchland Select is a classic Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon expression of dark fruit, roundness, texture and a lingering finish. Aromas of dark blackberry, boysenberry and mocha lead onto the palate, where concentrated flavors of ripe blackberry and fig dance with firm tannins for a rich blackberry and dark chocolate finish. Pair with hearty stews, steaks on the grill, or fire-roasted vegetables.

VINEYARDS& VINTAGE

This blend of grapes comes from the benchlands of our vineyards in Oakville and Rutherford—including Hill Ranch, which surrounds the Rutherford home of Jack and Dolores Cakebread. Benchlands are the narrow regions that mark the transition from the valley floor to mountain slope. This geographic position offers distinctive soil profiles for strong root development. Mountain shade that protects grapes from extreme conditions, allowing them to ripen slowly and steadily. The vineyards receive bright eastern exposure in the morning and cool shade from the Mayacamas mountain range in the afternoon. Gravelly benchland “bale loam” soils provide good drainage but also retain good water in the root zone. Slight differences in mesoclimate and soil structure—Rutherford sits just to the north of Oakville—give this blend of two appellations a distinctive, opulent complexity.

WINEMAKING

After harvesting our Benchland Select grapes from multiple vineyard blocks containing five superior cabernet sauvignon clones, we gently destemmed the clusters and fermented each lot in small, stainless steel tanks that give us optimum color, flavor and tannin extraction. Our winemaker Stephanie Jacobs selected yeast strains, fermentation temperatures, maceration techniques and barrel aging regimens according to the unique personality of each lot, capturing the finest attributes of each in the final blend.