Tasting Notes:Blend 25 has proven to be a stalwart bottling for B Cellars; clearly a wine of great pride and distinction. The 2004 vintage
Blend 25 begins boldly with a dark, deep purple color opening the door to a collage of powerful fruit, layered evenly from the beautiful nose at the beginning to a subtle finish on the palate. The wine has superb volume of black cherry, blackberries, sweet black fruit and a hint of espresso and licorice at the onset. It is followed by a loud and vibrant array of black stone fruits, clove, and hints of barrel vanilla. The texture is firm and balanced with symmetrical parts of sweet ripe tannin and acidity. The fleshy and moderately chewy mid-palate pushes on to a generous and memorable finish. Enjoy now through 2016.
Winemaking Notes:Every lot is carefully hand harvested early in the cool hours of the morning into half-ton macro bin boxes. The fruit is whole berry de-stemmed and depending on the volume of a particular lot. it was either placed in a one ton insulated fermentor or into a closed top stainless steel fermentation vessel where it received a 3 to 5 day cold soak prior to fermentation. Total fermentation across all lots for this wine averaged 15 days. and then gently pressed as not to extract bitter or harsh tannins. The wines were quietly aged for 21 months in 66% new French Oak including Saury. Demptos. Dargaud and Jagle. Nadalie and Sylvain cooperages.
Vintage Notes:The 2004 season dealt the Napa Valley an interesting mix of growing conditions that started with a very early spring. The warm and gentle spring was followed by an unusually hot summer. By the third week of September we completed the harvest for Blend 25 and while the yields were particularly low from other years. the fruit has a remarkable intensity.
Awards & Accolades:94 pts, Editor's Choice --
Wine Enthusiast Magazine
"Only the second vintage for this wine, but it joins the top ranks of Cabernet-Syrah Blends."
Technical Notes: | Appellation: | Napa Valley |
| Varietal: | Cabernet Sauvignon 66%, Syrah | Shiraz 34% |
| Harvest: | Sept 3 - Sept 27 |
| Alcohol: | 14.8% |
| Brix: | 24.6 - 27.9 |
| pH: | 3.70 |
| TA: | 0.62g/100mL |
| Production: | 757 (cases) |