2010 Rubaiyat
North Coast

Rubáiyat is named for the famous verse in a collection of poems by the 12th-century Persian philosopher Omar Khayyám:  “. . . a loaf of bread . . . a flask of wine, a book of verse – and thou singing beside me in the wilderness . . . .”  The components of this delightful red change annually based on vintage conditions and our winemaker Julianne Laks’ assessment of which lots of Cakebread Cellars’ red wines will produce the tastiest blend.

Vintage 2010
2010 was the latest in a string of cool growing seasons in California’s North Coast.  The year began with substantial rainfall, which pushed back bud break, flowering and grape set by several weeks.  After an unusually cool summer, heat spikes in late August kick-started full ripening.  Cooler temperatures returned in early September, but classic Indian summer weather yielded grapes with mature, concentrated flavors.  The result was a bevy of rich, elegant, beautifully balanced red wines, of which Rubáiyat is a prime example.

Winemaking
Each year, our winemaker, Julianne Laks, expertly blends multiple small lots of separately harvested, fermented and aged red varietals to create Rubáiyat, a smooth, fruitful red that beautifully accompanies a broad range of casual meals.  Julianne and her team ferment the components of Rubáiyat in small, open-top, stainless steel tanks, using manual punchdowns to gently macerate the juice and skins and extract optimal color and flavor.  The goal is to craft a medium-bodied, juicy red wine with vibrant acidity and supple tannins that’s delicious to drink on release.  In 2010, the individual lots comprising Rubáiyat aged 14 months in French oak barrels, 20% new, and then were blended just before bottling to preserve the wine’s wonderfully fruit-forward aromas and flavors.

Tasting Notes
The 2010 vintage of Rubáiyat is a classic, boasting lush black cherry and plum fruit aromas with complex supporting scents of roasted earth, leather, licorice spice and mineral.  In the mouth, the wine is round, smooth and fruitful, with mouthfilling cherry, plum and mocha flavors that extend into a long, savory, black-cherry-and-spice finish.  Rubáiyat’s luscious fruit, bright acidity and soft tannins fruit make it a delicious companion to a wide range of hearty foods, including grilled burgers and steaks, barbecued ribs and chicken, spicy sausages and rich, tomato-based pastas.