 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
HARVEST DATES
September
16- October 14 |
|
|
TITRATABLE ACID
0.59g/100ml |
|
|
pH
3.64 |
|
|
FERMENTATION
100%
stainless steel |
|
|
BARREL AGING
19
months all French oak |
|
|
BLEND
90%
Cabernet Sauvignon
10% Merlot |
|
|
APPELLATION
100%
Stag's Leap District |
|
|
MALOLACTIC FERMENTATION
100% |
|
|
RELEASE DATE
September
1, 2003 |
|
|
RETAIL PRICE
$75
per bottle |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
TASTING NOTES
FAY
is famous for its bouquet of warm crushed berries, dried black cherries,
vanilla, and sandalwood, and the 2000 vintage offers an abundance
of those aromas. Yet there’s also a wealth of other scents:
violets, anise, cocoa, and smoky cedar. The bouquet carries through
to the mouth, where the rich flavors harmonize over a bass line
of smooth, silky tannins. The millennial vintage will age exceedingly
well, but in its youth it is a worthy match for a spicy pan-Asian
style roast pork loin, or gnocchi with a wild mushroom sauce. If
you’re planning to consume this wine in its youth, we recommend
decanting to allow aeration and approximate the effects of longer
cellar aging.
VINEYARDS AND WINEMAKING
The
replanting of this historic vineyard began in 1987, the year after
we acquired the property from Nathan Fay, and was completed in the
mid-1990s. By the 2000 harvest the vines were attaining full maturity,
and the 2000 vintage shows what they are capable of. The vineyard
was the first planting of Cabernet Sauvignon in what is now the
Stags Leap District. From the beginning, FAY’s soils, a combination
of rich, waterborne alluvial earth and volcanic rock, have yielded
wines marked by voluptuous perfume and radiant berry flavors, with
a personality markedly different from the wines of neighboring S.L.V.
During replanting, decisions about clonal material, trellising,
and orientation were carefully made to ensure the fullest possible
expression of FAY’s special character. Now the replanting
process has helped to bring the flavor and richness of the FAY fruit
to new levels of intensity. Since 2000 we have added two new hillside
blocks to the vineyard and invested in replanting two additional
blocks. The final results of those efforts are still years away,
but we look forward to even greater things from what is already
one of the most highly regarded vineyards in the Napa Valley.
2000 FAY Cabernet Sauvignon
"92 points. Well-defined currant, fresh earth, mineral, and sage flavors are nicely proportioned, supported by firm, supple tannins and finishing with a long, luxurious aftertaste. Drink now through 2010."
—Wine Spectator, May 15, 2004
|
|
|
 |
