Tasting Notes

Anomalous and incredible.  Typical freshness that the site always provides, with only a kiss of 2022 confection.  Black cherry, white flowers, red currant, subtle oak.  The 2023 dose provides a needed dark verdancy that comes off with subtle garrigue.  Silken, elegant, and poised.

Winemaker Notes

The 2022 vintage was one of the most unique in history, essentially divided into two distinct harvests: one before the intense heat wave in early September, and one after the late-September rains. The extreme weather variations in 2022 were highly site-specific, so only the best-suited terroirs and vineyards could rise to the occasion and produce outstanding wines.. Fortunately, many of our vineyard sources use old-school California trellising styles instead of more modern VSP trellising. This approach elevates the fruit higher off the ground, reducing exposure to radiant heat and allowing for more shading from larger canopies. The wines of 2022 are more opulent and dense in fruit character, and we are proud that everything we bottled still retains a thread of freshness and energy.

This unique parcel's clay and sand soils reflect an elegant and complex wine with a softer texture than many of its Oakville neighbors. This site never ceases to amaze us with its freshness and elegance, especially in the adverse 2022 growing season. The 2022 Old Federal Cabernet Sauvignon can further be characterized by its signature finesse and freshness.

To use the words of UC Davis, "The Old Federal Vineyard of To Kalon is the most significant vineyard in the state, if not the world. It has contributed more to our understanding of viticulture than any other. Research at the Station began with Hiram Crabb and the California Viticulture Commissioners in the 1880s, continued with the USDA until the end of prohibition, and now is one of the UC Davis Department of Viticulture and Enology." Our wine from this vineyard is a rare look into this iconic site at an incredibly small production level.