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V Madrone Cabernet SauvignonThe V Madrone Winery and 3.25 acre Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard is located at 3199 St. Helena Hwy. North (Highway 29) just north of St. Helena on a gentle slope on the western side of the highway. Our terroir is distinguished by red, volcanic gravelly loam and an alluvial plain that uniquely characterizes this distinct northwest corner of the St. Helena appellation. Since we planted the vineyard in 2002, we have been blessed with five terrific harvests from 2004 to 2008. At the present time we are near completion of the historic renovation of our barrel storage facility which will be open for tasting and touring by appointment only in late November. Please call us at 707-963-3573 to schedule your visit.
Our young vineyard yielded its first small crop in 2004 producing 70 cases of our inaugural V Madrone Cabernet Sauvignon crafted by winemaker, Chris Dearden. The V Madrone 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon is an elegant 100% Cabernet Sauvignon with a bouquet of plums, berries and allspice and was awarded a 93 rating by Wine Enthusiast. The V Madrone 2004 allocation is sold out.
 The V Madrone 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon vintage was our first full production from our 3.25 acre vineyard with 562 cases produced and was released this year. Winemaker Chris Dearden had this to say about our V Madrone 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon: "After maturing for 22 months in small French oak (88%) and American oak (12%), the 2005 V Madrone achieved a perfect balance and symmetry. This Cabernet shows beautiful expressive notes of blackberry, black licorice, wheat toast, graphite and wet earth. The palate was congruent with the nose in the abundance of dark fruit, depth of character and firm, yet supple tannins. This is a powerful wine and will age gracefully for 20 years or longer." To Purchase our V Madrone 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon please click on the Purchase Wine tab.
Our 2006 V Madrone Cabernet Sauvignon was bottled on August 22, 2008 after 21 months in the barrel. It was racked four times over this period and no fining nor filtration occurred prior to bottling. This second full vintage (third total) has shown power and elegance together since the fruit was crushed on October 20th, 2006. Deeply hued, the fermenting wine exhibited aromatics of blackberry malt and crushed blueberries. After aging in 50% new French oak with the balance new American and one year old French oak, the wine has taken on characteristics of coffee, roasted walnuts and hazelnuts. The 2006 V Madrone Cabernet is a wonderful wine that has much potential to develop into an extraordinary wine with a few months of bottle age. It is demonstrative of the "place" where it is grown and is unique, complete and ageworthy. The 2006 V Madrone Cabernet will be released in March 2009.
The 2007 Harvest Season began with a dry winter and early budbreak around March 20th. A dry and cool spring evened out the maturity of the fruit, allowing ample hang time for flavor development. With only one minor heat spike in late August, the fruit lingered on the vine until it was at optimum flavor intensity. We harvested the V Madrone Vineyard in three distinct picks on September 26th, October 4th and 5th. The 2007 V Madrone Cabernet Sauvignon is showing wonderful signs of harmonious interaction between wood and wine. Gone are the grapey flavors and woody components that are present during the first nine months of aging. In its place are the flavors and characteristics of dense, ripe fruit, along with toasty nuances married into the aroma and mouth presence of a wine aged in tight-grained French oak for one year. The 2008 vintage will be remembered as early and light, but with tremendous color and balance of flavor within the young resultant wines. What we lacked in volume, we more than made up for in concentration and flavor. After a hot spike in weather around the Labor Day weekend, the weather cooled off and allowed the grapes to slowly mature into their sugar content with flavors, tannins and color maturing as the sugar levels slowly advanced. The light crop allowed unusual leisurel y harvesting of fruit at peak maturity. Harvest was completed in two lots on Sept 29 and October 10.
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