Ad Vivum Cellars - Sleeping Lady Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2017

Druva

100% Cabernet Sauvignon (55% Clone 191, 45% Clone 7)

Tasting note

The 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Sleeping Lady Vineyard was aged for 17 months in French oak, 70% new. Deep garnet-purple, it offers up fragrant notions of blackcurrant pastilles, dried mulberries, preserved plums and chocolate-covered cherries with suggestions of Chinese five spice, underbrush, dried Provence herbs and black truffles. The palate is full-bodied, with a satisfying mid-palate and a solid backbone of ripe, grainy tannins supporting the generous fruit, finishing long with an herbal lift. 435 cases were made.

Chris Phelps has been the winemaker at Ad Vivum for 12 years. This is a small production label of 100% Cabernet Sauvignon (55% Clone 191, 45% Clone 7) coming from just six rows of vines from the Sleeping Lady vineyard in the Yountville AVA south of Dominus.

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Robert Parker Wine Advocate

Technical sheet

Composition:
100% Cabernet Sauvignon (55% Clone 191, 45% Clone 7)

Single-Vineyard:
Ad Vivum Cabernet Sauvignon is grown in two small blocks at Sleeping Lady Vineyard, in Yountville, Napa Valley. Sleeping Lady, the southernmost vineyard in the Yountville AVA, is in a location that enjoys ample cooling from nearby San Pablo Bay, which promotes gradual ripening. These blocks are found at the vineyard’s uppermost western perimeter along the Mayacamas Mountains, with rows oriented southwest-northeast. The vineyard is sustainably and meticulously farmed by the Bettinelli family. 

Soil:
The soil profile shows Keefers dark gravelly-sandy clay loam of alluvial origin.

Growing Season & Harvest:
50 inches of welcome rainfall in winter and spring, along with warm weather, led to early budbreak. Growing season temperatures were normal, with the notable exception of three discrete periods of intense heat, with temperatures over 100 degrees, in mid-June, at the end of August, and in mid-September. Both the geographic location of Sleeping Lady and the close proximity of our blocks to the Mayacamas range were key factors in maintaining excellent fruit quality through harvest during the nights of October 5th and 7th. 

Winemaking:
The berries were gently de-stemmed, and then sorted both optically and by hand. The must was cold-soaked for 5 days, and then fermented in 75% stainless and 25% new French oak barrels. Total maceration time was 20 days. Drained warm into 70% new French oak barrels for aging, the wine was bottled after 17 months.

Bottling:
June 2019
5,220 bottles (750mL), 24 Magnums (1.5L), 1 Solomon (18 L)