Mauritson, 'Loam' Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma County, 2018

Overview of the Wine                                                                     
Since 1868, the Mauritson family has been growing grapes in the Dry Creek Valley. Our great-great-great grandfather S.P. Hallengren, a grape growing pioneer in the Rockpile region, first planted vines in 1884, shipping every ounce of his wine back to Sweden. Our family's Rockpile homestead and ranch grew to 4,000 acres by the early 1960s when all but 700 ridgetop acres was acquired by the Army Corps of Engineers in order to develop Lake Sonoma. The vineyards shown in many of our historical family photos are now under water! For the next 30 years, the Rockpile property would serve mostly for sheep grazing.

Six generations and more than 150 years later, we're earning a reputation for outstanding winemaking along with our sought-after harvests. Opened in April 2004, our winemaking facility and tasting room is located at 2859 Dry Creek Road, on the corner of Dry Creek and Lytton Springs roads in Healdsburg. We can't wait to welcome you and share our wines.

The early part of the 2019 growing season was marked by numerous days of heavy rainfall. While our typical annual total is around 40 inches, by mid-March that was easily exceeded by 10+ inches. Cooler days, in combination with the saturated soil profile, led to slow growth after budbreak in early April. However, momentum quickly grew as above-average temperatures hit in late April followed by bouts of rain in May, threatening the development of the blossoms into fruit.

Organic.

Grape / Blend
Cabernet Sauvignon

Origin
Sonoma County, California

Winemaker's Tasting Notes
The 2018 Loam Cabernet Sauvignon is our proprietary blend of grapes sourced from vineyards planted in Positas, Suther, and Clough soils. It is composed of the best vineyards, grown in the best soil, from the best appellations. Perfectly structured, Loam balances the brightness and focused tannins of hillside fruit with the dense, rich characteristics of fruit grown in the ancient riverbed and valley floor soils. The 2018 growing season started quite dry, with weather stations clocking only 25% of our annual seasonal rainfall by the end of January. The few weeks leading up to budbreak were unseasonably warm. Large diurnal swings in temperature defined the rest of the growing season. It wasn’t until veraison, which occurs in late July, that weeks of low-pressure systems resulted in lower afternoon highs, enabling a perfect ripening season favoring mature tannins and flavors at lower sugar levels. Upon initial evaluation, our 2018 Loam has a wonderful sweet nose of candied black cherry and blue fruits with crumbs of graham cracker crust and shavings of dark chocolate. With more aeration, more complex aromas of worn leather, chiseled rock, and cured meats escape the glass. The 2018 Loam has a very inviting entry that is both fresh and silky. And while it is quite approachable for such a young Cabernet, it still carries the hallmark length and finesse one would expect from our single soil series Cabernets. This beautiful Cabernet Sauvignon will age gracefully for 8+ years.

94 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate  
Deep ruby, the 2018 Loam Cabernet Sauvignon has concentrated aromas of cassis, blueberry, violet, pencil shavings and loamy earth. The full-bodied palate is powerful yet elegant, with intense, layered flavors and just enough refreshing acidity on the finish.

91 Points - Jeb Dunnuck 
Impressive blackcurrants, iron, tobacco, and hot asphalt-like notes emerge from the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Loam, a rich, medium to full-bodied Sonoma Cabernet. It has solid underlying structure, but it's ripe and textured, and certainly already offers ample pleasure. It should keep for 15 years or more.

Product size: 750ml