Vineyards
Our 2005 Benchland Select Cabernet Sauvignon was produced from three prime vineyard sites located along the gently sloping western benchlands of Napa Valley’s Oakville appellation. These sites enjoy ideal eastern exposures, mild afternoon temperatures and well-drained soils, ensuring their fruit ripens slowly and evenly throughout the growing season. We hand-harvest, ferment and age each block separately to capture its unique qualities, then blend the lots to create a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon of exceptional fragrance, depth and character.

Vintage 2005
In 2005, a warm late winter spurred early bud break, but a cool, wet spring set back vine development. Atypically cool temperatures continued throughout most of the summer, which slowed ripening and prolonged the growing season. Warm, sunny weather in September and October, however, brought the harvest to fruition in fine fashion, enabling us to harvest our benchland grapes at perfect ripeness between October 15th and 17th.

Winemaking
To craft our Benchland Select Cabernet Sauvignon, Cakebread Cellars winemaker Julianne Laks ferments the fruit from each vineyard site separately, employing the tank sizes, yeast strains, fermentation temperatures and maceration techniques best suited to each lot, which vary not only by location and ripeness level, but also by clonal type. These specialized fermentations and the lot-specific barrel aging regimens Julianne employs ensure that the finest attributes of each vineyard site are reflected in the final blend. The 2005 Benchland Select aged a total of 21 months in French oak barrels, 38% new, before bottling in July, 2007.

Tasting Notes
This rich, suave Cabernet Sauvignon offers lavish aromas of ripe dark fruits (blackcurrants, blackberry and boysenberry) mingled with loamy earth, dark chocolate, vanilla cream and briary spice scents. Full and lush on the palate, its dense, mouthfilling, black fruit and dark chocolate flavors are framed by fine, ripe tannins, which give the wine a seamless, sumptuous texture and long, savory finish. Beautifully structured, with great reserves of lush, ripe fruit, this luxurious Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is delicious now, but will age well for another 7-10 years.

Grape Varieties:
100% Cabernet Sauvignon

Alcohol Content:
15.5%

Total Acidity: 0.65g/100ml

Vineyards:
Oakville District

Harvest Dates:
October 15-17, 2005

pH: 3.70

Fermentation:
Stainless Steel

Barrel Aging:
21 months in French Oak

Winemaker:
Julianne Laks