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We our proud to announce the release of our third vintage of Cabernet Sauvignon PORT made from fruit from our Home Ranch. Only 100 cases of this wine were made, and it is available exclusively in our Barrel Room. With its long and glorious history, Port-style wines have entranced the palates of wine lovers for nearly 500 years. Port (made from grapes grown in Portugal, originally) began its history as a replacement for French wines that unavailable owing to the war between England and France at the time. Not wanting to stop drinking red wine, the British began importing theirs from Portugal. The long voyage resulted in much bad wine so brandy was added as a way of stabilizing it and insuring its drinkability. The wine’s sweetness arose from the yeast-killing quality of the brandy, and a new wine style was born. Our version of this favorite is made from Cabernet harvested by our Barrel Room staff. When the fermenting wine reached about 10% sugar, brandy was added to arrest fermentation and maintain its sugar. The wine was aged in new barrels for about 15 months before release.

The wine is inky purple, very opaque with a bright edge. Aromatically, this Cabernet exhibits aspects ranging from cassis, tobacco and sweet oak to bittersweet chocolate, mint, and freshly-turned earth. While heady now, time will only serve to open aromas up and frame the brazen force of youth. In the mouth the 2001 Steven Kent Cabernet is highly tannic and profoundly rich. Flavors of dark fruits and oak greet one up-front and persist on a long finish. This wine will need five to seven years to begin to show all of its attributes and will age (if stored correctly) for decades

In only one other vintage since our first have we produced anything but a 100% Cabernet wine under our Livermore Valley banner; 2002 marks the second release. In certain vintages we have found that the addition of another varietal adds levels of complexity and completeness to the wine it would not otherwise achieve. After tasting through the various lots made from our Cabernet vineyards, we added Petit Verdot from Livermore to our Cabernet to made a wine of great depth and ageability.

The 2004 vintage was significantly different than 2003 in its nearly ideal stability of temperature without significant temperature spikes and lack of rainfall during the growing season. The seamlessness of the season is reflected in the wine. Redolent with aromas of fig, lime peel, orange water, and roasted nuts, the brightness of fruit upon entry (think lemon oil and pear) leads immediately to a massive middle. In the mouth, this wine grows abundantly, an organoleptic equivalent of the Greek O. The biscuity flavors of 18 months of aging on the lees couple with the exotic flavors of cardamom and crushed stones and continue upward and outward, carried on the back of a streak of acidity. The wine finishes very long with minerally notes of lime leaves and Meyer lemon.

The 2001 Vincere is a blend of 49% Barbera, 46% Sangiovese, and 5% Cabernet. All of the fruit for this wine was grown on our 5.8-acre Home Ranch vineyard. Only 300 cases were produced in this vintage. Unlike the 2000 release of Vincere, which was a study in red fruits and exotic spices, 2001 is a muscular, intense wine that takes its top note from blueberry-laden Barbera. This varietal yielded for the first time in 2001 and contributes to Vincere’s firm acidity and aromas of roasted meats and freshly-turned earth in addition to the perfume of perfectly ripe blueberries.