Amista 2015 Rockpile Cabernet Sauvignon
Library Selection
92+ points fromWine Advocate!
Rockpile is such a special appellation. From the proximity to the coast, sitting above the fog line and the steeply terraced vines, one can see where the immense flavors and intensity in the wines originate from. Our 2015 Rockpile Cabernet Sauvignon is a great example of what this appellation can do. The aromas are filled with cassis, blackberry, leather, sandalwood and a touch of earth. The palate is blackberry jam on the front with bold tannins on the mid-palate. The natural acidity of these vines shines through at the end to balance everything. This is a wine to lay down.
Terraza Vineyards is high on a steep rocky hillside in the Rockpile appellation overlooking the Dry Creek Valley.
422 cases made
100% Cabernet Sauvignon, hand harvested
Terraza Vineyards, Rockpile
Healdsburg, California, in the heart of Sonoma wine country
In Stock
Wine Specs
Vintage
2015
Varietal
Cabernet Sauvignon
Appellation
Rockpile
Vineyard Designation
Terraza Vineyards
Harvest Date
September 22,2015
Sugar
25.5
Acid
6.7
pH
3.66
Aging
22 months in 25% new French oak barrels
Bottling Date
July 17, 2017
Residual Sugar
0
Alcohol %
14.7
Wine Advocate
92
Wine Profile
Awards
92+ points Wine Advocate
Vineyard Notes
Rockpile is such a special appellation. From the proximity to the coast, sitting above the fog line and the steeply terraced vines, one can see where the immense flavors and intensity in the wines originate.
Winemaker Notes
2015 was a very dry year here in Sonoma County, and especially Rockpile where our water is already very limited. After three years of minimal winter rains, the vines on this very steeply terraced vineyard were stressed. This however, led to a very small crop and an intense concentration of flavors in the grapes and in the final wine.
The Rockpile Cabernet Sauvignon was harvested first thing in the morning. The grapes were hand sorted both in the vineyard and in the winery before being crushed and destemmed to an open top fermentation tank. The grapes were cold soaked for 5 days to extract the maximum amount of flavor, then inoculated and fermented on the skins for 14 days. After being gently pressed off the skins, the wine was moved to 25% new French oak and the remainder used oak barrels where it completed malolactic and was racked twice in the 22 months before being bottled.
Production
422 cases made