Electrum 20 3L

2020 OBELISCO Electrum Cabernet Sauvignon

AVA:Red Mountain

Winemakers:Ken Abbott

Blend:91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot

Vineyards:100% Obelisco

Bottling:496 cases 750ml

Alcohol:15.9% vol.

Barrels:45% new oak; 100% French

Tasting Notes:Dark purple, magenta inky color. The first aromas to hit your nose boasts ripe fruit like loganberry, blueberry and cherry along with some cola, vanilla and some gentle oak tannin. The first sip on the palate brings the nose to fruition with the same notes of fruit and spice. The top of your palate experiences the buzz of the fruit and spice and then spreads over the whole mid-palate revealing slightly darker fruit tones  and mellow spice. The wine finishes on the back of the palate with vanilla and concentrated dark fruit that lingers for a long and pleasant tail. The mouthfeel is smooth and coats the palate wonderfully. Just smell, sip and enjoy. Take your time enjoying yet another classic example of our signature Electrum Cabernet.

Cellaring:Because it is made from Red Mountain grapes this wine should age well for the next 12 to 15 years. Because it is Obelisco fruit, it is soft and inviting now for wine that is 90% Cabernet.

Production:All the fruit for this wine is from Obelisco Vineyard. The high density planting yields smaller berries, which contribute to the concentrated flavors, yet the fruit from this vineyard always makes wines with luxurious tannins and mouth feel. Combine this with 20 months in 45% new oak and you get a wine that invitingly combines great fruit and oak.

Harvest notes:2020 was a hot year that had lots of smoke in Eastern WA. The Obelisco vineyard was lucky to stay out of the fray of the direct smoke and did not see damage like some vineyards did. Oddly enough the atmospheric smoke of 2020 created a heat barrier and literally dropped the temperatures on Red Mountain by 15 degrees which bridged the fruit from the summer to the cooler fall which allowed a little bit more hang time for the grapes. However, the sugars developed very early while flavors developed a little bit later leading to more sugar to ferment to alcohol which means a slightly higher alcohol year for Obelisco. All in all, despite the challenges, the harvest went well.