Girard '18 Calistoga Cabernet Sauvignon

Inky ruby color and laden with ripe black plum, plump black cherry and blackberry jam, hints of tobacco and dusty earth aromas and flavors. Powerful, yet precise tannins afford this Cabernet a crushed velvet texture and a supple and enduring finish.

The 2018 vintage proved nearly ideal. Ample winter rains were followed by lots of spring and early summer sunshine. Bud break and flowering were slightly later than usual but coincided with ideal weather conditions for healthy fruit set. The mild summer was followed by an equally ideal fall; allowing fruit to ripen with moderate sugar levels. Fermentation temperatures were kept deliberately low to retain fresh fruit flavors and color extraction. Carefully selected French oak barrels rounded out the elevage (or barrel aging) process, ensuring a wine rich character and complexity. 

Sourced primarily from the Tenma Vineyard in an area called Jericho Canyon in northeastern Calistoga where the soils are ancient fluvial fan deposits. Ample sunshine and vast temperature swings from day to night help retain lively natural acid and ripe fruit flavors. Those factors combine perfectly to sustain our well-established vines, enabling us to craft a Calistoga Cabernet Sauvignon that is simultaneously robust and smooth on the palate.