Arietta Cabernet Sauvignon 2018
The sources of Arietta’s 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon are two superb vineyard blocks in the rolling, volcanic soil of Coombsville, just east of the town of Napa. The primary site is Arietta’s outstanding 1.7-acre block in the Meteor Vineyard, planted in the 1990s and still managed by the viticulturist Mike Wolf. We are very fortunate to have gained access to another Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard on the northern edge of the Coombsville Appellation, also planted and managed by Mike Wolf, and with a favorable gently sloping southwestern exposure. We have married the three finest barrels from this site to eight barrels of Meteor Cabernet to produce a wine that represents the Arietta “house style:” lifted aromatics, persistence, and balance.
Notes from Arietta Winemaker Andy Erickson: The product of a near-perfect growing season, the 2018 Arietta Cabernet Sauvignon was woven together from three of our favorite vineyard blocks in Coombsville, an ancient volcanic caldera in the southeast corner of Napa Valley. This area is known for wines of great concentration, but also aromatic nuance and finely tuned tannins. The 2018 Arietta Cabernet Sauvignon is just that: a wine with the power that we love from Napa Valley, with endless layers of complexity, and a soft, graceful, but solid structure.
The long, mild 2018 growing season delivered fruit that was fully ripe, with great phenolic maturity, natural acidity, and a panoply of flavors and aromas. The core of black fruits is adorned with notes of dried sage, bramble, flint and baking spices. The wine enters gently, but then immediately broadens and intensifies on the palate, growing in volume and finishing with a flurry—kirsch, raspberry, exotic woods, campfire and vanilla bean. The tannins are bold but rounded, making the wine incredibly attractive right now, and meaning also that there is plenty to look forward to in the future. With so much going on in this wine, one would not guess that the blend is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, but indeed it is.
Blend: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Fruit Sources: Meteor and Two Belles Farms Vineyards, Coombsville
Vine Age: 20 years and 6 years, respectively
Elevage: 22 months in French Oak Barrels, 75% new
Production: 290 cases of bottles, 15 cases of magnums