2022 Paysan Old Vines Cabernet Sauvignon

We sourced Cabernet Sauvignon from two vineyards.  The 60-year-old Brigantino Vineyard originally planted for Almaden and the 45-year-old Wheeler Ranch growing in calcareous alluvial deposits over the San Benito Arroyo.  All of our Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards are either practicing organic, certified organic, or in the process of converting to organic farming.  We add 5% Petite Verdot from a nearby vineyard for a little heft.  All vineyards experience warm days and cold nights, typical of the Central Coast, allowing these late-ripening Bordeaux varieties to be picked at high acidity and this is a Cabernet Sauvignon off old vineyards, planted with old massale/clonal selections on old-school rootstocks (St. George and AXR-1) made in a style reflective of the classic California cabernets of the 1970's.  Fermented de-stemmed whole berries with a very light crush in open-top fermenters, allowing slower extraction of tannins into the must and lots of oxygen into the fermentation for polymerization of tannins.  Not inoculated for primary or secondary.  Pressed after approximately 20 days. Aged for 1 months on lees in mostly neutral barrels with a couple of active oak barrels sprinkled in. 

Winemaker Notes