Mauritson "Rockpile" Cabernet Sauvignon Rockpile Ridge Vineyard 2021
Mauritson "Rockpile" Cabernet Sauvignon Rockpile Ridge Vineyard 2021
94% zinfandel, 6% petite syrah
The Rockpile Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon is made up of mostly Cab, blended with Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot. The fruit comes from the Gloeckner-Turner vineyard, in Sonoma's Rockpile AVA, which was planted back in 2000. The vineyard sits at 1,350 feet in elevation with extremely well-drained soils and heaps of sun exposure, helping to produce very small, very concentrated berries. The wines are fermented and aged individually for about 14 months before the blend takes place, then the finished product is aged for 20 months in 100% new French oak.
Aromatically the wine is perfumed with ripe blackberries, roasted coffee beans, anise and a hint of freshly grated nutmeg. On the palate the wine has flavors of blackberries, black cherries, and plums over a bold tannic structure.
Tasting Notes
ripe blackberries
anise
grated nutmeg
black cherries
spice
graphite
candied plums
bold tennins
Food Pairing
steak
burger
lamb
VARIETAL COMPOSITION Syrah
REGION California
COUNTRY United States
APPELLATION(S) Alexander Valley, Dry Creek Valley, Rockpile
PROPRIETORS Clay and Carrie Mauritson
FOUNDED 1998
WINEMAKER Emma Kudritski
Since 1868, six generations of the Mauritson family have grown grapes in the Dry Creek Valley. These 140 years of farming have crafted their winemaking philosophy that great wine is made in the vineyard. Each harvest, they reserve the best fruit from their 310 acres throughout the Dry Creek Valley, Alexander Valley and Rockpile appellations. This allows them to showcase the individuality of their incredible vineyard holdings by creating single-vineyard wines as well as wines distinctive of the appellations themselves.
The family farming operation moved first to Alexander Valley, then expanded into the benchland of Dry Creek Valley, where they delivered superior fruit for regional winemakers to work with year after year. In the mid 1990s, Clay Mauritson returned from college with an unexpected longing to get back in the vineyards. This time, though, along with pruning and picking, Clay was determined to add winemaking to the family operation. Honing his winemaking skills and knowledge of winery operations at Kenwood, Taft Street and Dry Creek Vineyards, Clay was ready in 1998 to release the inaugural Mauritson Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel. Clay's wife Carrie soon joined him, leading our marketing and operations support.
