The 2013 Audacieux is a wine that is made in the style of fine Bordeaux and embodies a tradition of patience and excellence. This wine is extracted with layers of balanced tannins, soft fruit, gentle mouthfeel and a long finish. If you choose to age your Audacieux it is very well balanced, will store well for decades and will get better with time.

Sommelier Christopher Sawyer had this to say about the 2013 Audacieux: This vibrant wine opens with seductive aromas of ripe berries, mountain herbs, chocolate ganache, and cedar. The favors are deep and robust briary blackberry, ripe blueberry, cassis, dark plum, fresh currants, sage, and a nice balance of fine French oak, chewy tannins, and rich, round mouthfeel lead to a long, lingering finish. 97 points.

Winemakers Notes:

This wine is gentle and elegant in nature and has the qualities you would find in a fine Bordeaux. The tannins are soft while the fruit remains bright mid palate. The flavors are subtle and not overpowering and the finish is long and includes notes of blackberries and mild tannins. The overall mouth feel is soft and pleasing. This wine would be best enjoyed with any dish that does not overpower the elegant flavors.

Vineyard Notes:

The 2013 vintage of Audacieux is Napa County single vineyard designate from a private estate on Oakville Grade. This rugged hillside property just above Oakville is a very highly sought after terroir. At an elevation of approximately 1,000 feet this vineyard has a unique combination of clones planted to produce a wine that has a distinctive French style.

Harvest Notes:

The 2013 growing season encountered a warm, dry spring brought early bud break, helped with canopy vigor and berry size and created ideal conditions for flowering and fruit set under sunny skies. With the exception of one heat spike in late June/early July, temperatures were consistently in the zone for optimal vine activity, resulting in notably healthy vines as fruit went through veraison and started ripening.  The cooler, sunny weather throughout October allowed the final grapes still on the vine to linger longer, developing more phenolic and flavor maturities with sugar levels remaining steady.

• 100% Cabernet Sauvignon – Single Vineyard
• Oakville Ridge, Napa, California
• Un-fined and unfiltered
• 24 months in 100% new French Oak

The 2014 Audacieux Cabernet Sauvignon is a wine deliberately made to emulate the style of fine Bordeaux and embody the tradition of patience and excellence but also to embrace the fruit, texture and roundness that has made Napa wine so famous. The 2014 Audacieux is an extracted full bodied wine with layers of berry and dark stone fruit, a long finish and elegant tannins that lend to a round and soft mouthfeel. This 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wine is balanced and approachable now but will age well for decades and will continue to evolve with time.

Sommelier Christopher Sawyer had this to say about the 2014 Audacieux:
From its deep, rich and distinct aromas of dark toned fruits, ripe berries, cocoa powder, lavender, cigar box and savory spice, to its elegant entry and velvety texture, this wine becomes more graceful and complex as it opens up in the glass. On the palate, plush notes of dark cherry, blackberry, huckleberry, blueberry, cassis, wild currants and fresh mountain sage are enhanced with hints of allspice, mineral, and fine French oak. Balanced with soft, fine-grained tannins, bright acidity and firm structure, the flavor profile is topped off with a long, persistent finish. The end result is a profoundly elegant wine that is rich and approachable when young, with plenty of backbone, natural verve and pure fruit flavors to make it a true gem to cellar for many years to come.

With food, this masterful balance of depth, flavor and finesse make this a great wine to pair with blue cheese, wild mushrooms, pan-seared duck breast, grill steaks, rack of lamb, and dark chocolate desserts. Dynamic and oh so satisfying from start to finish.
Score: 97 points

Winemakers Notes:

This wine is both round in the mouth and elegant in nature. The 2014 Audacieux rivals the characteristics of the finest Bordeaux yet couples the best qualities of the most sought after Napa Cabernets. The tannins are soft yet bring structure, while the fruit rounds out the mid palate with spice and minerality, leading to a long and memorable finish sure to leave you wanting more. The flavors are deliberate yet subtle and not overpowering and the finish is long and includes notes of dark berries with soft yet attentive tannins. The overall mouth feel is round, soft and pleasing.

Vineyard Notes:

The 2014 vintage of Audacieux is Napa County single vineyard designate from a private estate on the top of Oakville Grade. This rugged hillside property just above Oakville is a very highly sought after terroir. At an elevation of approximately 1,000 feet this vineyard has a unique combination of clones planted to produce a wine that has a distinctive French style that is coupled with Napa fruit qualities.

Harvest Notes:

The 2014 growing season marked our third year in a row with drought conditions. Although December and January were dry, late rains in February through early April helped fill the reservoirs. A warm and windy spring brought early bud break to the vineyards with fruit development tracking two weeks ahead of normal. The summer months were warm, leading to balanced growth in the vineyard. September brought ideal weather with cool nights and warm afternoons. We slowly started picking our Oakville Cabernet at the end of the month, but a short heat wave in early October pushed everything into ripeness. We picked up the pace, and by mid-month we had the fruit crushed and in the tank.