2002 Cabernet Sauvignon

Twenty - eight barrels produced

Within the set of vintages around the turn of the millennia I believe that this one will end up being well regarded. Beginning with the 2001 they proceed linearly by structure. The 2001 was soft and velvety, giving unusually great pleasure as a young wine. The 2002 is medium in extract, but has the most potential for graceful development. The 2003 is quite powerful, and typical of what is expected from Napa Cabernet.
We used two primary vineyard sources for this wine. The first was the Brooks Vineyard on Dry Creek Rd. just north of the City of Napa. This is the vineyard of my brother Walter and his wife Bernadette. The second was the Hancock Vineyard in the Coombsville area just east of Napa. Rich and Alecia Hancock are investors in Amethyst. ; A small quantity of both Cabernet and Merlot were sourced from further up the Napa Valley to add ripe tones to the final blend.
There are really no words that do justice to the sensual pleasures of wines. But something must be said. This wine's architecture is classical. By that I mean that it is balanced and of medium extract. It is an open transparent rendition of Napa Cabernet that will drink well now and for at least the next ten or fifteen years. My aim is for supple tannins, youthful fruit, not too much oak, and a restrained amount of the herbaceous character that is Cabernet’;s signature. I believe this wine to be a successful foray. This wine should be pretty easy to pair with food as long as you avoid fish.
 ;