2018 Caravina Cabernet

Tasting Notes

This wine opens with an enticing nose of red fruit, Luxardo cherry, and a touch of pine needle. True to its rustic hillside origins, it offers an intriguing layered palate of cherry cola, herbaceous flavors, and spiced leather with cinnamon. Graceful and medium-bodied, this wine is perfect to drink now and also has at least fifteen years of cellaring potential.

Ratings

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Advocate (Jan. 2021) 91 points
“Composed of 91.5% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8.5% Merlot, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Caravina was aged for 20 months in French oak, 38% new oak. Deep garnet-purple colored, it offers up notes of warm cassis, baked plums and blackberry pie with hints of tar, star anise and black olives plus a waft of fertile loam. Medium to full-bodied, the palate delivers mouth-coating crunchy black fruits, supported by grainy tannins and oodles of freshness, finishing with a lively herbal lift.”

Antonio Galloni, Vinous (Dec. 2020) 94 points
“The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Caravina is a gorgeous wine to drink now and over the next decade or so. Juicy dark cherry, tobacco, spice, leather and licorice seem to jump out of the glass. Bright and exuberant, the 2018 offers tremendous immediacy in a mid-weight style that is sure to find many fans.”

Vineyard Notes

Seavey’s single-vineyard Caravina Cabernet comes entirely from grapes grown on the steep hillside blocks of our estate which we have been farming for over forty years. The 2018 year began with steady February rainfall, followed by a mild spring and early summer. The growing condition were near-ideal with steady sun during the day and cooler marine influences at night. The result was an impressively generous crop. Our Cabernet grapes were harvested in late September and early October.

Production Notes

Following classic Bordeaux methods, we separately harvest and vinify each vineyard block. In the cool of the early morning, grapes from our 2018 harvest were promptly de-stemmed and the uncrushed berries were gently transferred into fermentation tanks to carefully manage the tannins and resulting wine texture. Following whole-berry fermentation, the wine was aged in French oak barrels (40% new) for 20 months before bottling in June 2020.

100% ESTATE GROWN, PRODUCED & BOTTLED, NAPA VALLEY AVA