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Winegrowing
This bottling marks the fourth vintage of the Etude Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon, which was sourced exclusively from Block 6 of the Vine Hill Ranch in Oakville—home to some of the most sought after Cabernet grapes in the Napa Valley. The Phillips family has carefully managed this alluvial benchland vineyard for two generations.

The Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon was the third appellation wine to be introduced in our series of very small bottlings dedicated to highlighting these specific component wines.

Tasting Notes
The 2007 Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon reveals a ripe vintage for this unique wine in the Etude series. The wine opens with inviting and full aromas of dark fruit along with subtle graphite and licorice notes. The palate bursts with rich blackberry and black cherry followed by the increasingly distinctive and complex flavors of sweet, toasted almond that reveal the character of the oak. Graham cracker leads to a spicy, picante finish.

Etude was founded on the philosophy that winemaking begins in the vineyard long before the harvest and, that superior grape growing diminishes the need for intervention by the winemaker, resulting in authentic expression of the varietal. GBR is a proprietary red blend sourced from Etude’s Estate Vineyards at Grace Benoist Ranch, for which the wine is named.

Vintage & Vineyards
The vineyards are tucked away in the far northwest corner of the esteemed Carneros appellation. The Merlot and Malbec that comprise the blend are ideally suited to the diverse microclimates and rocky soils of the site and offer a unique expression of the land.

The vineyard is farmed to Etude’s exacting standards, using ecologically sound viticultural practices. We grow and ultimately pick focusing on intensity of flavor, strong varietal delineation and ideal natural balance. The Merlot and Malbec are planted on a rocky site in the vineyard that the Etude team calls the “rock farm.” The actual soil type is called Goulding-Toomes Complex, which is very volcanic. The well-draining, deep soils, combined with the cooler micro-climate, make this an ideal location for these Bordeaux varietals. The 2007 vintage was an excellent one in Carneros. Fruit quality is some of the best we have seen in the recent past. Cluster size was very small and the clusters were made up of small and regular size berries. We are expecting this vintage to shine for years to come.

Winemaking
The components were aged separately for approximately 12 months, the assemblage was then crafted and the blend was returned to barrels for 7 months of aging before bottling. The wine was aged an additional 6 months in bottle prior to release.

Tasting Notes
This second vintage of GBR is a blend of Merlot (85%) and Malbec (15%). The wine is deep ruby in color with luscious aromas of crushed berries, fruit compote, anise and black olive. A vibrant, magenta rim greets the eye indicating that the wine will age exceptionally well. Ripe black cherry and kirsch lead to black fruit and licorice flavors with baking spice and hints of espresso at the finish. The wine is round and lifted by subtle minerality with sumptuous tannins and a juicy core of concentrated fruit.