![]() In the end, it was another amazing vintage yielding exceptional fruit with bright acidity and ample flavor and texture. Crop volume was average to a little less than average. Harvest was long and relatively mild, helping to preserve freshness and finesse in the fruit with extended hang time teasing out great color, structure and soft tannins. A long, warm summer featured few extreme heat events, and the typically foggy mornings set the stage for vibrant and expressive wines. The early part of the 2019 growing season was defined by heavy rainfall which replenished reservoirs and gave the soils plenty of moisture. Looking east to the Napa Valley floor from our vines on the Rutherford Bench New plantings for the Rutherford Hillside Reserve The combination of soil and climate results in a unique flavor profile referred to as “ Rutherford Dust,” often described as powdery-soft dusty tannins with notes of fine cocoa powder. The climate, moderately warm with occasional morning fog and frequent afternoon breezes, is ideally suited to Cabernet. Here the soils rest on a gravelly bed deposited by an old stream, providing excellent drainage. Our vineyard lies on a gentle incline leading up toward the Mayacamas Mountains. The Rutherford AVA is arguably one of the finest places to grow Cabernet Sauvignon in Napa Valley, and the location of our Rutherford Hillside Reserve vineyard, on the western slopes of the AVA on what is often called the Rutherford Bench, is one of the most coveted in the appellation. The label has changed over the years, but our Rutherford Hillside Reserve is still grown on our estate vineyard in Rutherford. In 1994 John added “Hillside” to the name, creating the first vineyard-designated wine from Flora Springs. In fact, the 1991 Flora Springs Rutherford Reserve Cabernet earned 97 points and the #3 spot on Wine Spectator’s Top 100 list in 1994.įlora Springs’ Rutherford Reserve was the predecessor to our Rutherford Hillside Reserve. Beginning in 1989, Flora Springs produced a Rutherford Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from the same vines. John Komes brings in grapes from the Komes Ranch in Rutherfordġ994 wasn’t the first time this block was bottled on its own. John’s instinct proved prescient: when our first Rutherford Hillside Reserve Cabernet was released in 1997 the Wine Spectator awarded it 96 points. He kept the wine from this block separate, and bottled less than 50 cases on its own, dubbing it the Rutherford Hillside Reserve. But John Komes recognized there was something special about a group of vines located on the slope leading up to the northwestern edge of our estate in the Rutherford appellation. ![]() ![]() It was 1994, and in Napa Valley, wines bottled exclusively from one vineyard were still somewhat rare. We’re often asked which of our Single Vineyard Cabernets is our favorite, and the answer is always the same: we love them all! But our Rutherford Hillside Reserve does hold a special place in our hearts, as it was the first Single Vineyard Cabernet we produced. A Ground Breaking Innovation: Rutherford Hillside Reserve Single Vineyard Cabernet
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