2022 Rockpile Ridge Vineyard, Pritchett Block Cabernet Sauvignon

100% Cabernet Sauvignon from Rockpile Ridge Vineyard, Pritchett Block in the Rockpile Ridge AVA of Sonoma County, made by winemaker Jesse Katz.

This Rockpile Ridge cabernet sauvignon hails from the Rockpile Ridge Vineyard, Pritchett Block, sitting northwest of Dry Creek Valley– high up at some 1,300 feet above sea level and only about 7 miles from the Pacific Ocean. The warm, dry chaparral here, only a short way from Lake Sonoma, experiences warm days moderated by cooling influences from the nearby Pacific – making for one of the longest-growing seasons in Sonoma for Cabernet Sauvignon. The end result is a deeply structured and brooding wine with a strong mineral-driven backbone that gives this unending depth and silky yet unmistakable power. This wine is ripe, structured, and incredibly age-worthy – but with a silky, mineral, and floral elegance that allows it to be approached in its youth (with proper care, of course!). For now, at least, expect barrel notes of cocoa powder, vanilla, and peppercorns, with a core of blackberries, black plums, kirsch, and gravelly, minerally graphite. The aromatics delight and dazzle with violets, lilacs, and a whisper of blueberries and iron ore. This is a deeply complex and brooding beast that will go toe-to-toe with any of the heavyweights from Napa or Bordeaux.