Hawley 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon

Quick Overview

This mountain grown Cabernet is deep in color with intense fruit flavors reminiscent of black cherries, currants, and blackberries. On the palate it is rich and opulent, bursting with flavors of blackberries backed by toasty vanillin oak notes and round, chewy tannins.

Hawley 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon
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Product Description

2002 was a vintage of incredibly concentrated fruit. We held back this vintage because we did not feel it was ready. This exceptional wine is starting to open up and announce incredible fruit along with other complexities that seem to evolve with every sip.

Vineyards
This wine is made from fruit grown on both sides of Dry Creek Valley. Hawley Vineyard (39%) on Bradford Mountain is always high in acidity and tannin structure due to the hot afternoon sun disappearing behind the mountain. Shubert Vineyard (61%) gets baked by the late afternoon sun which tends to soften the tannins and lower the acidity. The blend of the two results in a balanced wine. Both vineyards utilize vertical trellis systems and crop thin to insure quality and flavor development.

Winemaking
The grapes were crushed and cold soaked for seven days to maximize skin extraction. Wild yeasts started the fermentation and a small inoculum of commercial yeast was added to insure the wine fermented to dryness. After fermentation the two Cabernet lots were blended and transferred to French chateau barrels for 18 months. The merlot was blended prior to bottling. Extensive oak aging has added vanilla, spice and smoky flavors. Barrel to barrel racking every three months has clarified the wine and softened the tannins.

Technical
Appellation: Dry Creek Valley
Varietal Composition: 94% Cabernet Sauvignon 6% Merlot
Brix at harvest: 26
Harvest Dates: Sept. 16, 2002
Alcohol: 13.9% Ph: 3.63 TA: .57
Bottling Date: July 14, 2004
Cases Bottled: 504

Additional Information

Food Pairings	Braised Lamb Shanks with lemon and mint
Varietal	Cabernet Sauvignon
Winemaker Profile	John Hawley I first got interested in winemaking as a teenager growing up in Mill Valley California. I was fascinated by the fact that I could add yeast to any kind of fruit juice and produce a fizzy alcoholic beverage. But it wasn't until I began studying chemistry and microbiology in college that I realized that I could actually ferment for a living. In June of 1980 I received Bachelor's Degree in Fermentation Science with honors from U.C. Davis. The next day I moved to Healdsburg to assume the winemaking duties at Preston Vineyards. Preston Vineyards was a one-man operation at the time, so I had to learn real hands-on winemaking. In March of 1981, with one commercial harvest under my belt, I was hired by Clos du Bois to be their first winemaker. They were a small operation, producing around 15,000 cases a year. It was a great opportunity for me to try out some novel winemaking techniques. At the time only a handful of tiny producers in California were barrel fermenting their wines. I was convinced that I could make a better Chardonnay by barrel fermentation. I can still remember how other winemakers ridiculed what I was doing. They would say, "Why go to all the trouble and mess? It's too risky! I can ferment the same amount of wine that you ferment in 100 barrels in just one 6000 gallon tank." Barrel fermentation did turn out richer, silkier wines, and within 10 years virtually the whole California wine industry had adopted this age old technique. While at Clos du Bois I got a chance to work with a lot of grape varieties. From our initial release of Merlot in 1981, it was clear that this was a variety with broad appeal. Everyone who tasted it loved it. So when I planted my own vineyard in 1983, I planted seven acres of Merlot. A year later I added a one-acre block of Viognier to see how this interesting French variety would do in California. Clos du Bois grew fast and garnered many accolades. By 1990 I was making over 200,000 cases of wine. That was when Kendall-Jackson hired me to be their chief winemaker. They were producing around 600,000 cases of mostly Chardonnay. I was ripe for the challenge. I was given the freedom to buy grapes from anywhere in the state, and was encouraged to use my creative instincts to improve and expand the red wine production as well as the white. It was all very exciting. By 1995 I was responsible for the production of over 2,500,000 cases of wine annually from six facilities. In 1996, after 16 years of making wine for others, I decided that it was time to strike out on my own. I bought some barrels and fermenters, bonded my garage, borrowed a press, and with a lot of help from my friends and family, and considerable toil, became a small wine producer. I really love what I do. Every day poses new challenges, but I am the boss and everything is about quality. I work in the vineyards, handcraft the wines, and in my spare time I do a little marketing.
Case Price	Buy 6 for $ 28.50 each -- 5% discount Buy 12 for $ 27.00 each -- 10% discount Mix and match for quantity discount

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