BRION‘Oakville Ranch Vineyard’ Cabernet Sauvignon 2017

Brion and Ronda Wise founded BRION after purchasing the famed Sleeping Lady Vineyard in the western hillsides of the Mayacamas Range in Yountville. Their focus is producing single vineyard expressions of 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from grower vineyards, including their own. This 2017 comes from the renowned grower vineyard, Oakville Ranch, which rests on the Vaca range, just off Silverado Trail. It is made by Mark Herold, who has a long history producing focused, high-quality Cabernet. People who know Oakville Ranch talk a lot about the soils—bright, deep orange soils with enormous boulders called core stones. They are part of a major landslide that occurred 200,000 years ago. As Mark explains, “The wines are big. They’re powerful and structured, yet there’s also a lushness and a suppleness associated with the soils created through cover crops and organic practices.” At an elevation of 500-600 feet, Mark produced this Cabernet from clones 169, 337 and 4, specifically from the Vista, Terraces, and Summit blocks. This 2017 is robust with a layered bouquet of dark berries, minerality, cardamom, tobacco, mocha and is framed by silky tannins in a lingering finish. 177 cases were produced.