Crown Point 'Relevant' Cabernet Sauvignon 2022

Crown Point 'Relevant' Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon + Merlot + Petit Verdot + Malbec • Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara, California

dense cassis and loamy soil up front, with bittersweet cocoa and a savory, almost charred-meat edge running underneath, then smooth, structured tannins carry charred blackcurrant and black olive through to a long finish laced with violet and rhubarb. whoo!

Roger Bower bought this hillside Happy Canyon estate in 2012 and brought on Philippe Melka (consultant for Hundred Acre, Seavey, and Cliff Lede wines) alongside winemaker Simon Faury (winemaker for Harlan Estate and Merryvale), planting twelve different clones of Cabernet on rocky ground that had never seen a vine before (it’s take at least 3 years to get good fruit after planting), where a fifty-degree swing between day and night keeps everything tense and alive. this means that Bower took a HUGE risk and really believed in the site. the wine sits in French oak barrels for 2 years to soften the tannins and let the flavors come together. this is good. 

pair it with: a ribeye that's been dry-aging in the back since september, medium-rare, don't overthink it.