Bonterra Organic Estates ‘The McNab’ Single Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2020

Winemaking Notes

Each lot is destemmed and crushed into a stainless steel tank; cold-soaked at 50°F for five days to extract color and refined tannin character before onset of primary fermentation. Lots are then fermented separately at 85°F degrees; two pump-overs per day to minimize extraction of bitter tannins. Lots are drained and pressed separately using a gentle basket press; then, transferred to barriques for malolactic fermentation and aging.

Aged 14 months in a mix of fine grain and mid-fine grain Bordeaux oak barriques (25% new), with medium to medium-long toast; untoasted heads. This carefully designed oak regimen creates a fresh, youthful style of Cabernet, without masking fruit characteristics.

Vineyard Notes

A century after its origins as a sheep farm, McNab Ranch Vineyard captured the imagination of organic viticulture icon, Jim Fetzer. Drawing on the knowledge of legendary biodynamic farming expert, Alan York, Fetzer transformed the site into a model of sustainable winegrowing in 1996. Today, McNab Ranch is a beacon of regenerative organic viticulture, an idyllic site where sheep graze on cover crops to reduce tractor passes and beneficial insects naturally ward off unwanted pests. The vineyard’s moderate microclimate fosters a fresher, more youthful style of Cabernet Sauvignon than its Napa Valley counterparts.

The vineyard is characterized by five soil series; this blend comes from blocks that skirt the ranch on the northern edge of the vineyard. These blocks have well-draining, gravelly-loam soils formed by alluvium weathered from sedimentary rock.

Inland Mendocino echoes a Mediterranean climate with 40 inches of rain annually, predominantly during the winter months; significant diurnal swings up to 45 degrees.