Yao Ming Family Reserve Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
Appearance exhibits deep dark purple color with intense hues. This wine is elegant and powerful. There is focused fruit with pronounced plum, blackberry and currant. The fruit is framed with barrel notes of toast and baking spice. The palate has rich yet, supple, lush depth from integrated tannin structure. The wine comes together on the finish and lingers on the back of the palate providing a long finish. This wine is approachable now and will age for many years. It is very elegant.
The 2016 growing season was an average yielding vintage in the Napa Valley due to set. We had good balance on the fruiting wire. This is a year that allowed the winemaker focus on harvest and bring out the essence of the vintage.
Appearance exhibits deep dark purple color with intense hues. This wine is elegant and powerful. There is focused fruit with pronounced plum, blackberry and currant. The fruit is framed with barrel notes of toast and baking spice. The palate has rich yet, supple, lush depth from integrated tannin structure. The wine comes together on the finish and lingers on the back of the palate providing a long finish. This wine is approachable now and will age for many years. It is very elegant.
Vineyards range from our ranch in Oakville to our bench land vineyards in Rutherford. The clonal selection includes Cabernet Sauvignon 337, 4 and 6. The soils are alluvial fans and volcanic rock at an elevation of 200-1800 feet above sea level.
Mid through late October 2016. Grapes were harvested at an average of 26.2°Brix.
Fruit was rigorously hand-sorted and fully destemmed to small stainless steel tanks with light crushing. Cold soaks (5-7 days), warm fermentations between 29– 32°C (85-90°F), and moderate pumpovers twice each day. Total skin contact ranged from 19-34 days with all fermentations being carefully basket pressed and put to barrel on full fermentation lees for malolactic fermentation (ML). Racking was twice per year with only one assemblage being done to allow the blend to “marry” in barrel. Barrels for final blend were hand selected by taste. Native yeast and ML used with only small lots conducted using cultured Bordeaux isolates. Bottled without filtration.
97% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Petit Verdot.
100% new barrels; 100% French oak. Total time in barrel: 24 months.
September 2018. 450 cases produced.
- pH: 3.55
- TA: 6.6 g/L
- Alcohol: 15.4%
Fall 2019
97 points - The Wine Advocate
95 points - JebDunnuck.com
95 points - Owen Bargreen
94 points - James Suckling
93 points - Vinous Media
91 points - Wine Spectator
