2017 Fluffy Billows Cabernet Magnum
The 2017 Fluffy Billows has completely lived up to the juicy, complex, fruit-forward style that we’ve grown accustomed to from our vineyard. At its ripe, densely packed core, blackberry and black and red currant are the focus of flavors, with strong hints of cassis and licorice. Savory-sweet notes of cooking spice have developed after two years in French oak, along with familiar cedar and tobacco characteristics.
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Tasting Notes
After almost three years of aging, the ’17 Oakville Cabernet has completely lived up to the juicy, complex, fruit-forward style of wine we’ve grown accustomed to from our vineyard. At its ripe, densely packed core, blackberry and black and red currant are the focus of flavors, with strong hints of cassis and licorice. Savory-sweet notes of cooking spice have developed after two years in French oak, along with familiar cedar and tobacco characteristics. As with many past vintages, the Oakville site continues to produce structured, ageworthy Cabernet Sauvignon, though we believe the 2017 is an abundantly drinkable wine at this early stage.
Vineyard Notes
2017 was a tale of two growing seasons. We started the year with a flood that saturated the soils and led to a wet spring. This caused late bud break, leading most folks to believe that it would be a late harvest. Of course, if you ask any grower about 2017 the first thing they will mention is the heat that dominated the remaining two thirds of the growing season. But when it was all said and done, 2017 was a close-to-normal harvest, with ripe and balanced flavors. In the last 20 years, only the 2007 and ’15 growing seasons had more heat accumulation.
Winemaker Notes
The Cabernet fruit was hand-picked into macro bins, then sorted and de-stemmed and crushed into stainless steel tanks. Cold soaking was carried out over 24 hours, and the must was inoculated and pumped over one to three times per day, then pressed before finishing primary fermentation. Once dry, the wine was racked to barrel and inoculated for malolactic fermentation. It was racked again at the conclusion of secondary fermentation and twice more before bottling. Though it was filtered, owing to its time in barrel, fining was not necessary.
Ratings
90 points: Wine Enthusiast
Awards
Gold: Sunset Intl Wine Competition
| Vintage |
2017 |
| Wine Style |
Red Wine |
| Varietal |
Cabernet Sauvignon |
| Varietal Composition |
93%
Cabernet Sauvignon
5%
Merlot
2%
Cab Franc
|
| Harvest Date |
September 16th - October 10th, 2017 |
| PH |
3.71 |
| Aging |
22 months |
| Barrel Aging |
22 months
50%
Neutral Oak
50%
New French Oak
|
| Bottling Date |
August 14th, 2019 |
| Alcohol % |
14.2 |
| Size |
1.5 L |
