Crimson Veil Beckstoffer Crimson Ridge Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

Crimson Veil is a new generation of ultra-premium California cabernet. A Taub family passion project born in the Beckstoffer Crimson Ridge Vineyard, it marks the first time legendary grower Andy Beckstoffer has added his name to a bottle of wine outside Napa County — a symbol of the important future in store for this still off-the-beaten-path place. Crafted at Oakville’s renowned B Cellars by third-generation winemaker Kirk Venge, Crimson Veil signals the beginning of a new era in California fine wine from this untapped region, ripe with potential.

Influenced by the eruption of Mount Konocti some 11,000 years ago, the alluvial soils of Crimson Ridge Vineyard are Benridge-Konocti, blanketed over west-facing slopes ranging from 15 to 30% grades. The Benridge series consists of deep, well-drained loamy soils primarily comprising weathered dacite or pyroclastic tuff and breccia, giving the soils its reddish hue. The Konocti series consists of moderately deep, well-drained soils formed from material derived predominantly from andesite, basalt, and dacite.

The fruit was hand harvested at night and delivered cold to B Cellars on November 3rd with an average brix of 26.8. Perfectly long season and excellent hang time. The fruit was fermented in stainless steel, with gentle aerative pump overs for a total of 21 days then pressed and settled before maturing in 50% new French Oak barrels where it underwent a slow, spontaneous malolactic fermentation as it continued ageing in a quiet, consistent cave environment.

Full-bodied and deeply savory, black fruits are intertwined with cola, leather, and sticky baking spice. Incredible acidity keeps the wine fresh with the chewy tannins of higher elevation fruit filling out the backbone and carrying through its lengthy finish.