Trefethen Family Vineyards
2008 Cabernet Sauvignon
Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley
Auction 14 | Lot No. 123
Vintage: 2008
Trefethen Family Vineyards
Cabernet Sauvignon
Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley
10 cases produced
Description
At Trefethen Family Vineyards, we continually conduct trials in viticulture and winemaking to explore new ideas and further our efforts at crafting world-class, estate-grown wines. We are particularly excited when we identify practices that improve wine quality and simultaneously reduce our needs for inputs such as water and energy. To that end, we have significantly reduced the water used for vineyard irrigation and dry farm some parts of our vineyard every year. This stellar 100% Cabernet Sauvignon is the result of an extreme dry-farming trial that we conducted in 2008. Trials such as these create stress for us and the vines, but we think that you will agree that the reward is in the wine.
Aging Process
18 months in new French Oak barrel crafted by Bernard Cooperage from trees in the "Center of France" forest. The staves were subject to medium plus toasting.
Wine Facts
- pH: 3.3
- Single vineyard wine
- Wine was dry farmed
- Sustainably produced
- Wine is 100% estate grown and bottled
Tasting Chart
| bone dry |
|
very sweet |
| light body |
|
very full bodied |
| soft, gentle |
|
very crisp |
| no tannins |
|
heavy tannins |
 |
Zeke Neeley
Winemaker, Trefethen Family Vineyards
While pursuing his Masters at Davis, Zeke did an internship in Napa Valley at Trefethen Family Vineyards. That experience made such an impression on him that after stints at wineries in Santa Cruz and Sonoma, Zeke jumped at the chance to work with the Trefethen team once more.
Country born: United States
Education: Zeke earned his undergraduate degree in Biochemistry from the University of California at Davis. He then worked several years in the biotech industry in South San Francisco, focusing on cancer research. A love of wine led him back to school for his Masters in Viticulture and Enology at U.C. Davis.
Years in the wine industry: 9 years
Winemaking Philosophy:
Zeke sees a winemaker as part chef, scientist, craftsman, and part guidance counselor. The natural end-product of a grape fermentation is not wine but vinegar. Wine needs to be guided to maturity and to do so requires a detailed understanding of microbiology and chemistry, a discerning palate, and a bit of creativity. He feels that his main goal is to create wines that showcase the excellent and unique fruit we harvest from the vineyards at Trefethen each year.
Q&A With the Winemaker
Q: Premiere Napa Valley wines are innovative and allow each winery to showcase the region's sense of exploration in fine winemaking. What kind of exploration did your Premiere Napa Valley wine allow you to do?
A: For this wine, we really pushed the envelope in the vineyard. We took a small section of a Cabernet block and subjected it to extreme dry farming. It was "extreme" because 2008 had a very dry spring and we left the cover crop growing, even right under the vines, to further reduce the amount of water available. In contrast, the traditional approach to dry farming includes removing all weeds and cover crop throughout the vineyard to preserve some soil moisture for the vines.
Q: What was your inspiration for this offering?
A: As we said in the lot description, we are continually conducting trials in the vineyard and winery and are particularly excited about ideas that can have a positive impact on both the quality of wines and the sustainability of operations. Limiting the water used for irrigation can concentrate flavors in the grapes and reduce our use of a precious resource. In this case, we took that idea to the extreme!
Q: Fill in the blanks: I chose to make this wine from this particular ______________ because ______________.
A: I chose to make this wine from this particular variety because limiting soil moisture is particularly important in crafting world-class Cabernet.
Q: Why should a wine lover have a bottle of this wine in their cellar?
A: Everybody who got a chance to taste it agreed - the trial was a success! The wine is fantastic - and a great example of the intersection of farming for quality and farming for sustainability.
Pantheon Wine Shoppe
899 Skokie Boulevard
Northbrook IL 60062
847-498-1414
Premiere Napa Valley Wine Collection
| Winery | Vintage | Variety | Appellation | Fanciful | Auction |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emblem Wines | 2008 | Cabernet Sauvignon | Rutherford | Michael Mondavi Family Selection | 14 |
| Gamble Family Vineyards | 2009 | Sauvignon Blanc | Yountville | Gamble Vineyard | 14 |
| Oberon Wines | 2008 | Cabernet Sauvignon | Napa Valley | Hillside Reserve, Michael Mondavi Family Selection | 14 |
| Trefethen Family Vineyards | 2008 | Cabernet Sauvignon | Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley | 14 | |
| Clos Du Val | 2006 | Cabernet Sauvignon | Stags Leap District | 12 | |
| Trefethen Family Vineyards | 2006 | Red Wine | Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley | 40th Anniversary Cuvee | 12 |
| Artesa Winery | 2005 | Cabernet Sauvignon | Atlas Peak | Granite Hill | 11 |
| Rutherford Hill Winery | 2000 | Merlot | Napa Valley | Selby Creek | 6 |
| Franciscan Oakville Estate | 1997 | Cabernet Sauvignon (95%), Merlot (5%) | Napa Valley | Reserve | 3 |
| Rutherford Hill Winery | 1997 | Merlot | Napa Valley | Watson Ranch | 3 |
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