Boisseau Red | 2015 | $45

Style

2015 is an atypical Boisseau Red as it is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Smoky, dark cherry aromas. Black olive and earthy flavors with persistent grip from dusty Cabernet tannins and toasty French oak.

Food pairings

Ribeye, lamb loin and duck breast, but not all at the same meal.

Vineyards

Boisseau Vineyard, Warren Co. is located on a bluff above Front Royal in the Shenandoah Valley at an elevation of 600 feet. The vineyard is west facing on light, deep, well drained loam soils. The Cabernet Sauvignon vines were planted in 2006 and are trained on cordon/VSP trellising.

Vintage

With a few caveats, 2015 was an excellent year for red winegrapes. The winter of 2014/15 was colder than average, but unlike the winter of 2013/14, there was no vine or bud damage. Bud break was slightly late. May was unusually dry and consequentially accelerated growth and flowering. Right around flowering June turned very wet, however pollination and berry set was successful, as temperatures remained warm.

Wet spells continued into July and we were bracing ourselves for a possible negative impact on wine quality. The rains stopped in mid-July, but shoot growth continued into early August which is later than ideal. With a very dry August, vine growth stopped and vines were in good balance going into harvest.

September gave us ideal conditions for ripening. Threats of rain never came to fruition. Harvest was compressed with never a day off. The Boisseau Cabernet Sauvignon was uncommonly balanced and complete without any support needed from other varieties. Harvest was September 25, 2015.

Winemaking

This is a selection of just one Cabernet Sauvignon block of Boisseau Vineyard. We hand sort before destemming and then again afterwards to remove pink berries and stem pieces. 10% bleed. Pumped over averaging two times per day, with some punch downs later in fermentation. Post fermentation macerations make for a total cuvaison of 22 days. Malo in barrels. The wine was aged in one new French oak barrel for 21 months. Bottled August 2017. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink through 2023. 300 bottles produced. 14.2% alcohol.

Jim Law