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2020 Beaulieu Vineyard Clone 6 Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon

2020 Beaulieu Vineyard Clone 6 Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon

2020 Beaulieu Vineyard Clone 6 Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon

$190.00
Bottle
Price $190.00
$2,280.00
Case (12)
Price $2,280.00

Tasting Notes

The 2020 vintage of Clone 6 Cabernet Sauvignon is nothing short of superb. The aromatic nose reveals notes of fresh ripe plum, cassis, dark chocolate, and fresh earth, On the palate, the wine strikes a perfect balance with notes of candied cherry, bay laurel, and Creme Brulé. The wine evokes the true meaning of “Rutherford dust” with its coco-powder tannins leading to a full-bodied structure and lingering finish. While enjoyable now, this wine will continue to develop and age well with proper cellaring through 2048.

Technical Information

Varietal Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage 2020
Volume 750mL
Appellation Napa Valley
Blend 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Oak Treatment 22 months in French oak (95% new)
Alcohol % 15.3%
pH 3.67

Winemaking

At our state-of-the-art winery dedicated exclusively to the production of our Reserve wines, we utilized the latest technology to destem and optically- sort the berries to retain only the highest quality fruit. Cold soaking of the must and gentle pump overs extracted the flavor-rich skins into the juice. Upon completion of primary fermentation, we pressed the skins and transferred the wine into French oak barrels for in-barrel malolactic fermentation and aging for 22 months. Because of the unique character of this clonal selection, we treat the wine as a separate lot and bottle a very limited amount.

Vintage

It was a warm, dry winter and the rain and cooler weather didn’t arrive until the end of March. While the mild spring provided a great early start, summer brought very cool mornings and very warm days. The harvest was smaller, and one of the most challenging in history, but our always optimistic team was able to create wines of high quality, with concentrated flavors and excellent acidity, from this unprecedented vintage.

Vineyard

In the 1880s, UC Davis professor Eugene Hilgard planted clone 6, which is also called the Jackson clone, at the university's field station at Jackson in the Sierra Foothills. It was abandoned until the last few decades when it was rediscovered. In 1980, we began a 14-year series of trials in conjunction with UC Davis, to identify Cabernet Sauvignon clones best suited to our Rutherford Bench terroir. Two clones (numbers 4 & 6) were ultimately selected for grafting to rootstocks planted in the well-draining, alluvial fan soils of our estate vineyard. As a component of our Georges de Latour and other reserve Cabernet Sauvignons, Clone 6 has notably small loose clusters and small berries that yield highly concentrated, distinctive flavors structured by muscular tannins. Often referred to as our mountain fruit on the valley floor, this creates a Cabernet that is very concentrated with more structure and tannin.