2020 FAY Hillside Cabernet Sauvignon

VINEYARDS & WINEMAKING

There are 26 main Cabernet Sauvignon blocks within the FAY vineyard. The grapes for this bottling are from FAY blocks 12A, 12B, 12C, 7B, 6NS, 10B, 5A on the hillside, closest to the Palisades and its volcanic soils. We call these the “power blocks” as they are the backbone of the FAY vineyard. The small berries and small clusters give the wine intense flavors, deep saturation and great grip. After fermentation, the lots were aged for 20 months in 100% new French oak barrels. This wine is 93% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7% Cabernet Franc.

VINTAGE

A dry and hot growing season, coupled with a global pandemic, and multiple wildfires made 2020 a year we won’t forget. Due to the dry winter, we started more tillage than normal in February to preserve soil moisture and reduce competition. Rain right at bloom interrupted fruit set and provided a “natural fruit thinning” that brought the crop in balance relative to the dry soil conditions. We were excited during the heart of the growing season, as vines were in balance, and the timing of impactful viticulture practices (leafing, crop adjustment, etc.) was nearly perfect. Several heat events, including a three-day heat spike over Labor Day weekend, led to an early harvest. This was the year of the LNU Complex Wildfire and the Glass Fire Complex. As we do every vintage, we taste grapes daily in the vineyards and back up what we are tasting with lab analysis. We are fortunate to have ready access to our own lab as well as the tools necessary to make educated picking, winemaking and bottling decisions, ensuring overall wine quality. The warm weather this vintage produced wines with a riper character. We are very pleased with the resulting wines from the 2020 vintage (although there won’t be as many bottles) to carry our legacy forward.

TASTING NOTES

This Cabernet Sauvignon offers dark fruit aromas with hints of violet, fig, and sweet Bing cherry. The wine is complex and round on the palate with fruit, floral and mineral flavors. The wine is nicely balanced with a full-bodied finish.