Novelty Hill Cabernet Sauvignon 2020, Columbia Valley, Washington

“A concentrated, full-bodied wine with dark fruit aromas and flavorful layers of black cherry, wild blackberry, and fresh plum on the palate. Refined tannins give the wine its silky texture, with dark fruit flavors stretching across a long, rich finish.” – Mike Januik, Winemaker. The 2020 growing season will be remembered for low yields, warm summer weather, and sufficient hang time to produce wines with intense aromas and concentrated flavors. Grapes were slow to ripen in early September, but by mid-month, the Columbia Valley settled into its usual pattern of warm days and cool nights. Ideal harvest conditions lasted into mid-October, allowing vines to ripen light crop levels beautifully. Vineyard: The Columbia Valley is a diverse growing region that produces a wide range of fruit expressions, and few Washington winemakers know the vineyards as well as veteran vintner Mike Januik. The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon blends dark fruit aromas and flavors from Novelty Hill’s Stillwater Creek Estate on the Royal Slope of the Frenchman Hills with select grapes from top Red Mountain, Wahluke Slope, and White Bluff vineyards to build layered complexity and mouthfeel in the finished wine. Winemaking: Gentle pump overs during the early stages of fermentation extract color and flavors without imparting harsh tannins. Gravity racked every five months to soften and clarify the wine. Aged 20 months in 25% new French oak barrels; 40% used; 15% new American oak barrels; 20% used. Blend: 99% Cabernet Sauvignon, 1% Merlot.