Nose

Intense aromatics of raspberry, violets, cassis, stones, and blueberry.

Palate

Firm tannins, but velvety, are balanced with abundant ripe fruit and a streak of fine acidity.

Growing Conditions

Morris Cabernet Sauvignon: Quite low on the Morris vineyard sites (closer to the lake) with moderate east facing exposure making it a fairly cool summer spot, but with great wind allowing for an extended hang time. The Cabernet Sauvignon off this site is able to get good sugars from its hang time and sun exposure but maintain a pretty character from being fairly cool.

Morris Cabernet Franc: Some of the higher elevation areas of the Morris Vineyard (closest to Rt 14) and away from the lake. Mostly clay driven soils that keep the roots cooler and allow the fruit to ripen slower, over a shale bedrock which allows for good draining and concentration. The slope is moderate to the east getting great morning sunlight keeping the fruit clean for a longer hang time.

Harvest

Harvest remained dry and warm with cool nights. The result was the ability to be able to wait on flavors to develop slowly but progressively while maintaining our tell-tale acidity and structure. The fruit that was harvested had significantly higher than normal brix levels and, in some cases, record breaking, while still having high acidity and fabulous concentration and flavors.

Bottling

Bottle Date: May 26, 2022

Winemaking

A selection of our favorite barrels from Jeff Morris’ Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon.
The fruit came in pristine and was allowed to go through a 6 day cold soak before slowly starting fermentation spontaneously. Fermentation happened slowly with some lots fermenting up to 40 days. There were two clear lot difference with both the Cab Franc and Cab Sauvignon with about a third fermenting cool and the rest warm allowing for a great combination of perfumed aromatics (cool ferment) and density (warmer ferment). The wine was pressed directly to barrels after 36 days and only racked once at blending in April 2022. The wine was allowed to spontaneously also go through malo-lactic fermentation.

Appearance

Dark ruby colored wine

Food Pairing

The 2020 Reserve Red would be a perfect accompaniment with some grilled skirt steak served with chimichurri alongside some sauteed garlic scapes and shiitake mushrooms.