Staglin Family Vineyard 'Salus' Cabernet Sauvignon

2018 was yet another superb growing season despite some of the challenges we faced with periods of high heat and low humidity. Another warm and dry winter lead to what is becoming the normal ‘early’ budbreak which was primed and boosted by fortuitously timed February rains. The return to warm and dry early spring pushed us through flower and fruit set before the cool spell that affected others, so we saw healthy and normal yields. Then the heat train returned and was indeed full steam ahead throughout the summer, accelerating ripeness and maturity to give us the earliest harvest in the last 12 years. The nose of focused and driven dark red and black fruits is made complex and intriguing by an overlay of earth and herbs – think tilled soil and wet, leafless wintertime trees with a sprinkle of freshly torn tobacco, pinched camphor leaves and Tellicherry peppercorns. The crystalline and concentrated palate of ripe cherries and bursting black raspberries cascades along a chiseled path of fine granulated tannins given texture and touch by notes of espresso, cocoa nibs and hazelnut butter. A bit tightly wound at present, this fine-grained gem will appreciate a brief stint in your cellar, or your decanter.