2020 Chiron Bolt of Cloth Cabernet Sauvignon

In the 2020 vintage, most of Napa struggled with wildfires. Amazingly though, where Dominus is located, right across from the French Laundry was COMPLETELY unscathed, leaving the winemaking team there feeling a bit guilty as their vintage turned out to be an excellent one. Bobby Moy himself couldn’t believe the fruit he got. It was perfect for creating a full-throttle Cabernet Sauvignon with pristine fruit. 

The Land: Mayacams hillside west of Oakville in the Napa Valley

Farming: Sustainable, organic practices, all by hand

Barrel Aging: 100% French oak, 60% New, 26 months

Variety: 92% Cab, 4% Cab Franc, 3% Merlot, and 1% Petite Verdot

AVA: Napa Valley

Chemistry: pH = 3.72, TA = 4.8 g/L, Alc/Vol = 14.8%, rs = 0.4 g/L

Winegrowing Approach
The epitome of hillside Cabernet, our “Bolt of Cloth” vineyard struggles. We picked the grapes at the optimal tannin ripeness when the fruit
flavors were between red and black. They were delivered to the winery during the cool early morning hours. Once at the winery, we diligently
sorted the individual clusters, then, destemmed the grapes prior to entry into French oak barrels where they fermented naturally. We performed
either punch downs, pump-overs or rack-and-returns to nurture the fermentation to completion. At which point we allowed the maceration to
continue until we achieved the right balance in structure. We then gently pressed the wine to tank and transfered the wine to 60% new oak
barrels to age for 26 months. The oak staves used to make our cabernet barrels are from the best forests in France and aged extra-long so that
they are not too aggressive on the wine. We racked the wine o its sediment only once before it was bottled.