Caterwaul Cabernet Sauvignon 2021, Sonoma County, California

Matt Hardin, a 6th generation Napa Valley resident and farmer, is owner and managing partner of Matthew Wallace Wines and Hardin Vineyard Management. Matt enjoys putting his expertise to work farming both ultra premium grapes for his private clients and several sites that make up the base for the Caterwaul Napa bottling. Thomas Rivers Brown, winemaker for some of Napa and Sonoma’s most iconic labels (Schrader Cellars, Outpost and his own Rivers-Marie & Aston Estate), has more than 50 100-point wines to his resume. Working together for many years over many different projects, a friendship was developed. Out of that friendship, the idea of working together, utilizing the strengths of the other, Caterwaul was born. The fruit for this bottling was sourced from the southeast corner of Sonoma County, almost touching the Napa County line. ‘We were awestruck when we had the opportunity to purchase such high-quality old vine Cabernet Sauvignon from a site defined by gravelly loam soils in the shadow of Mount Saint Helena.’ This wine starts with opulent, mouth-coating, sleek dark fruit. The wine shows off an inky purple hue in the glass with a saturated violet halo. Vivid aromas suggest notes of roasted meat, cigar box, and crushed blueberries. The sumptuous palate expresses notes of currant reduction, cocoa, wild sage and dried black cherry. The plush, round mouthfeel is framed by exotic notes of baking spices and a fine tannin framework.