 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
HARVEST DATES
September
19 - October 14 |
|
|
TITRATABLE ACID
0.59g/100ml |
|
|
pH
3.75 |
|
|
FERMENTATION
100%
stainless steel |
|
|
BARREL AGING
21
months all French oak |
|
|
BLEND
99%
Cabernet Sauvignon
1% Petite Verdot |
|
|
APPELLATION
100%
Stag's Leap District |
|
|
MALOLACTIC FERMENTATION
100% |
|
|
RELEASE DATE
September
1, 2003 |
|
|
RETAIL PRICE
$150
per bottle |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
TASTING NOTES
Now,
in its youth, the wine boasts subtle, yet richly complex, aromas:
a heady combination of caramel and brown sugar, cedar and sandalwood,
dark plums and black cherries, rosemary and bergamot. On the palate,
the smooth entry opens to flavors of dark stone fruits and cassis,
black olives, cloves, and vanilla, which extend through the lingering
finish. This is a wine that can easily age for a decade and beyond.
Decant an hour beforehand if you want to enjoy it now with lamb
medallions in Cabernet-black olive sauce or caramelized-onion tarts
with a side of braised endive.
VINEYARDS AND WINEMAKING
CASK
23, our proprietary bottling produced only in particularly meritorious
vintages, is drawn entirely from S.L.V. and FAY, our estate vineyards
in the Stags Leap District. Over the years, we’ve learned
that certain blocks and sub-blocks within these properties consistently
yield grapes of exceptional quality. The choice of which grapes
will go into CASK 23 is far from automatic, however. Even within
sub-blocks of proven greatness, the quality of fruit varies from
year to year and from vine to vine. We pick and vinify in small
lots, then carefully monitor each lot’s development. The effects
of aging, the toast of the barrel, even the barrel’s location
in our caves all help determine whether a promising lot lives up
to its full potential. Once the most impressive lots are identified,
then comes the challenge of deciding which ones to use, in which
proportions, to create the most beautiful expression of this particular
vintage.
2000 CASK 23 Cabernet Sauvignon
"91 points. Well-balanced, with hints of beefy currant, bay leaf, and bell pepper offset by rich toasty oak and an underlying sense of elegance, finishing with delicacy and grace. Drink now through 2012."
—Wine Spectator, May 15, 2004
"96 points. Simply magnificent! Extraordinarily seductive in every way; ripe, pretty, sexy, delectable… one of the most remarkable wines in California history."
—Wilfred Wong, October 2003
|
|
|
 |
