By Provenance Vineyards
2018 Armstrong Ranch Diamond Mountain District, Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Wine Description
As our name suggests, the pedigree of Provenance Vineyards wines is of utmost importance. We go straight to the source for the highest quality Napa Valley fruit, forging enduring relationships with the region's top wine grape growers. We rely on the finest winemaking traditions to produce elegant, powerful wines.

Vineyard
The beautiful, forested Diamond Mountain District, designated an American Viticultural Area in 2001, rises 2,200 feet above northern Napa Valley. Armstrong Ranch sits high atop Diamond Mountain, just west of Calistoga. The vineyard blocks are planted on an extreme hillside at 850 to 1,200 feet. The thin, volcanic soils are laden with obsidian (volcanic glass) and very limiting, yielding only 2 tons per acre. Due to the varying elevations and row orientations, this vineyard is typically harvested three or four times; sometimes, a quarter of a row is left to ripen further. These factors make it a difficult place for a grapevine, and the resulting wines are incredibly rich in flavor with a complex tannin structure.

Winemaking
We hand-sorted the grapes first in the vineyard, picking them at dawn and then again at the winery for optimum quality. We cold-soaked the must for three days for gentle extraction, followed by fermentation in stainless-steel tanks. Following extended maceration and pressing, the wine completed malolactic fermentation in barrels to round the acidity and enrich the mouthfeel. Gentle rackings naturally clarified the wine, while barrel aging melded complex oak nuances with the ripe, dark fruit expression.

Technical Details
Varietal Composition: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Barrel Regime: Aged 20 months in French oak barrels
Alcohol: 15.20%

Tasting Notes
Our 2018 Armstrong Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon is a bold expression of the Diamond Mountain Appellation. Terroir nuances of forest floor, cocoa powder, and dried herbs like mountain sage, rosemary, and cigar tobacco. It is layered with dark blackberry, blueberry, black raspberry, cola, and bittersweet chocolate aromas with secondary notes of sweet baking spice, vanilla bean, clove, and charred toast from the oak barrel integration. Persistent dark fruit and espresso flavors extend the finish and the complex and solid structure, while framed with minerality.
[Information provided by Merchant 23]