By Terra Valentine
2019 Wurtele Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Spring Mountain District

Wine Details
Vineyard Properties: Wurtele Vineyard
Appellation: Spring Mountain District
Clonal Selections: Clone 7
Year Planted: 1990
Yields: 2.5 tons/acre
Harvest Brix: 25.5-27.5
Coopers: Nadalie, Orion, and Ermitage
Bottled: July 2021
Composition: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon

Growing Season
A long, warm summer and mild finish to the season. The beginning of the 2019 growing season was defined by copious rainfall and late soil moisture. The long, warm summer saw very few extreme heat events, with foggy mornings setting the stage for vibrant and expressive wines. The long, relatively mild finish to the season, not without its moments of unpredictability, helped preserve the fruit's freshness and finesse, with abundant hang time teasing out great color, structure, and soft tannins. Volume looks to be about average to slightly below average. All in all, exceptional fruit with bright acidity and ample texture promises an amazing vintage.

Winemaking
Hand-harvested, picked at night. Gently de-stemmed and whole berries transferred to stainless steel. Cold-soaked for 48 hours. Inoculated with D80 yeast and fermented for 21 days on skins. Free-run juice drained from tank, settled for 24 hours, then racked to barrel. Aged for 20 months in French oak barrels, 66% new.

Tasting Notes
Opens with cherry cola, dark, leathery fruit, and hints of blueberry, mingled with rich, dark chocolate notes, anise, and blackberry jam. On the palate, full-bodied tannins are soft around the edges, with notes of cocoa and black licorice, balanced acidity, and toasty caramel and baking-spice notes from the French oak. The finish lingers long on the palate with rich, balanced tannins.
[Information provided by Matador Vino]

Wine: 2019 Terra Valentine Wurtele Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
Score/Rating: 93
Suggested Drinking Window: 2023 - 2036
Review Date: 03/08/2023
Reviewed By: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Tasting Notes: Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2019 Wurtele Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon bursts with exuberant notes of wild blueberries, chocolate-covered cherries, and cassis, leading to hints of rose oil, tilled soil, and dried mint. The medium to full-bodied palate is soft and expressive, with a lively line and long, fragrant finish.

Wine: 2019 Terra Valentine Cabernet Sauvignon Wurtele Vineyard
Score/Rating: 92
Review Date: 05/04/2022
Reviewed By: Jeb Dunnuck
Tasting Notes: I loved the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Wurtele Vineyard, one of the standouts in the lineup. Plums, blue fruits, dark chocolate, and sappy herbs define the bouquet, and it’s full-bodied, has good concentration, ripe, building tannins, and a great finish. It’s a gorgeous wine.

Wine: Terra Valentine Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Spring Mountain District Wurtele Vineyard 2019
Score/Rating: 90
Review Date: 04/26/2022
Reviewed By: James Suckling
Tasting Notes: Intense aromas of crushed stone, pine cone and currant bush follow through to a full body with chewy tannins and a spicy finish. Slightly warm at the end. Very extracted, but there’s something intriguing here. Give it four or five years to come around.