2009 Compass® Cabernet Sauvignon Wine, California

Our Cabernet is a dark crimson color, with ripe berry and plum aromas, accented by toasty oak and vanilla. On the palate, dark fruit flavors are balanced by silky tannins and a lingering finish. Grapes were chosen from across California's best coastal growing regions, known for producing Cabernet with rich, concentrated fruit flavors and balanced complexity.

Vintage
The 2009 growing season provided almost ideal growing conditions for wine grapes. The climate was generally cool and moderate and grapes grew quickly helping the vines to produce a relatively large crop, although the vines for our 2009 California Cabernet were thinned to ensure optimum flavor concentration. The mostly cool growing season ensured full development of the grapes, with a heat spell in early September helping the grapes to ripen well. A mid-October rain concerned growers, but with the following Indian summer, the Cabernet grapes matured beautifully and by late October harvest was complete. Our 2009 Cabernet is delightfully rich and dark with wonderful fruit flavors and is every bit as luscious and approachable as the 2008 vintage.

Winemaking
Grapes for this wine were handled gently to minimize bitterness and fermented warm to maximize color and flavor extraction. The firm structure of the Cabernet was tempered with the Petit Verdot, which added suppleness and juicy red berry fruitiness.