2006 Alexander Valley Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
Proprietor Fritz Stuhlmuller
Winemakers Leo Hansen

Stuhlmuller Vineyards is located at the southern edge of the Alexander Valley, where it converges with two other highly regarded Sonoma County appellations, Chalk Hill and the Russian River Valley. On its eastern edge, the 150- acre vineyard borders the Russian River. Situated in a unique location that is part river benchlands and part hillside, the vineyard benefits from its alluvial gravel soils and the more rocky soils that comprise the hillside sections of the vineyard.

In 2006, winemaker Leo Hansen singled out one prized block of the Stuhlmuller Estate Vineyard for its depth, power and purity of flavor. Planted 20 years ago to a field selection from the Belle Terre Vineyard, the grapes from this standout block offer hypnotic blue fruit flavors, meaty complexity and tannic concentration.

After a wet cool spring, the 2006 growing season produced a mild summer with no major heat spikes, or unusually hot days. To ensure perfect physiological ripeness, we let the Cabernet Sauvignon fruit for the this vineyardselection wine hang until Halloween, the same day we picked a small, prized section of Petit Verdot for the blend.

Our inaugural Reserve Cabernet, the grapes for this blend were selected from mature vines to capture the signature essence of the vineyard. In the winery, the clusters were gently destemmed and fermented in a closed-top tanks to create ideal palate texture. The finished wine, composed almost entirely of free-run juice, was drained from the tank to 55 percent new French oak barrels where the wine underwent malolactic fermentation. The wine was gently handled with minimal gravity racking from barrel to barrel. It was aged using premium cooperage for a total of 18 months.

This Reserve Cabernet displays an inviting inkypurple color that leads to pronounced aromas of blueberry, blackberry and violets, underscored by notes of nutmeg and vanilla. Rich and full-bodied, with powerful tannins cloaked in a velvety texture, it reveals sophisticated flavors of blueberry pie, blue flowers and loamy earth that conclude in a long, satisfying finish.