2019 Desire Lines Lichau Hill Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

This is the second wine we’ve released from Lichau Hill Vineyard and I’m even more excited about the potential of the vineyard than I was last year. Lichau Hill is an absolutely exceptional site, the perfect marriage of a cooler coastal climate and the crazy rocky soils of a great mountain Cabernet vineyard. Freshness, perfume and vibrancy meets power and concentration. Our 2019 Lichau Hill Cabernet Sauvignon was fully destemmed, fermented and left on skins for thirty days in tank, and aged for 15 months in 225L barriques with 33% new oak included. The wine has a silky mouthfeel with vibrant acidity and a distinctly red-fruited profile, with pretty notes of red currant, red apple skin, rose petals and graphite. For the first time in 2019 we experimented with racking during élevage and I’m very pleased with the results. Four of the six barrels in the blend were racked once, after malolactic, and I like that the little bit of added oxygen helped to polish the tannin and brought out some of the floral and subtly savory aspects of Cabernet’s personality, while reducing some of the sweetening and softening effects of extended time on lees. It’s a direction we’ll continue in the future with Cabernet.
Sign Up to receive future Offerings