Description

BV Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour NAPA Valley 2016

98 Pts – James Suckling

“The intensity of fruit in the nose is so impressive with blackberries, blackcurrants and lavender. Extremely aromatic. Full-bodied, tight and focused with polished and chewy tannins. Blackberries, currants, walnuts and hazelnuts on the palate. Solid core of fruit and ripe tannins. Classically structured. 97% cabernet sauvignon with petit Verdot. Don’t try this until 2022 and onwards.” – James Suckling, 12/2019

97 Pts – Wine Advocate

“Blended of 97% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Petit Verdot matured for 22 months in French oak, 90% new, this vintage has an alcohol level of 14.9%. Deep garnet purple colored, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve Georges de Latour is still incredibly youthful. Sporting notions of cedar and cinnamon toast to begin, the nose opens out beautiful notes of warm cassis, crushed red and black plums and kirsch with floral hints of roses and candied violets. Sparks of crushed rocks and cast iron pan plus a touch of dried herbs emerge with coaxing. Full-bodied, rich, bold and energetic in the mouth, the palate reveals a very firm backbone of ripe, grainy tannins and seamless freshness, finishing very long with beautiful mineral accents.” – Lisa Perrotti-Brown, 5/2019

The extended drought was beginning to cause real concern as the 2016 growing season kicked off, but some welcomed winter rain hinted at the relief to come. After a relatively dry January we enjoyed significant rainfall in February, along with mild temperatures. Bud break was early, but was slowed by heavy April showers. While still early by historical standards, picking began about a week later than 2015, right around Labor Day, and continued at a leisurely pace, allowing the grapes to reach full flavor maturity. A traditionally sized harvest followed the lighter showing of 2015, and the extended mild season helped to balance the acids and add complexity to the layers of flavors. Considered a perfect harvest and a winemaker’s dream vintage, conditions were perfect for producing a Cabernet with beautiful fruit as well as tremendous concentration of flavors, highly saturated color, and layers of complexity.

Tasting Notes

The 2016 Georges de Latour Cabernet Sauvignon is bursting with a bouquet of cassis, blueberry, blackberry, violet and wild sage, exhibiting the extraordinary concentration, depth and elegance of this superior vintage. Full-bodied and rich on the palate with lingering flavors of dark blackberry, root spice, chocolate and molasses supported by perfectly balanced acidity which adds length, juiciness and freshness to an everlasting finish. Plush ‘Rutherford Dust’ tannins support the ever-expansive palate, while seamlessly integrating with the full-bodied texture, crafting a wine that shows grace, ease and approachability now, but with underlying power and structure that will keep this wine alive for decades to come. Well integrated notes of vanilla and toasted oak spices – from aging in new French oak barrels – heighten the aromas and dance on the lengthy finish. To enjoy this wine at its full potential, we recommend at least five years of bottle aging; however, if you can’t wait, decant before serving.

Vineyard Note

We hand selected grapes from the finest Cabernet Sauvignon vines from the western bench of the Rutherford AVA in our iconic BV Ranches No. 1 and No. 2, originally planted by Georges de Latour in the early 1900s. We focused on clonal selections (6, 4, 169, 5197 and 7), which yield small berries with the high skin-to-juice ratio needed to make intense, long-lived wines. The fruit was handpicked and optically sorted once it arrived to the winery in order to ensure the highest quality selection. These chosen vines are deeply rooted in the well-draining alluvial fan soils of Rutherford, considered one of the finest regions of Napa Valley for Cabernet Sauvignon.

Vintage Note

A mild winter across California lead to early bud break in 2015 but limited rain and moderate temperatures throughout the growing season caused the overall length of the season to be consistent with years past. The yields in 2015 were slightly lower than the previous year, which lead to exceptional quality, resulting in a Cabernet with tremendous concentration of flavors, highly saturated color, and layers of complexity.

Winemaker’s Note

At our state-of-the-art winery, dedicated exclusively to the crafting of the Georges de Latour Cabernet Sauvignon, the wine is fermented in roughly 50% new French oak barrels which provides early integration and enhances the dense, rich texture. The balance of the must was fermented in stainless steel and concrete fermenters which preserves the freshness of the fruit. Following judicious extended skin contact and in-barrel malolactic fermentation, the wine was pressed and returned to barrels for aging. A small amount of Petit Verdot was blended with the Cabernet Sauvignon to further enhance the wine’s aroma and flavor profile. With the 2016 vintage, we took more care in selecting the barrels chosen specifically for crafting Georges de Latour. We narrowed down our barrel coopers to the top 10 premium barrels to craft a Cabernet with incredible structure without any of the harsh grippy, astringent tannins that are sometimes associated with Napa Cabernet. This barrel regime is very important to the elevated quality of our Georges de Latour Private Reserve.