CC Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

Nickel & Nickel was founded by Gil and Beth Nickel with their first vintage in 1997. This estate is located in Oakville in the Napa Valley which was formerly a farm built by John C. Sullenger around 1884. The house offers an insight into the fashion life of the settlers who helped create one of the first wineries in Napa Valley. In the basement of this farm is the cellar with an area of ​​30,000 square feet. Each row of barrels represents an entire vintage of each of their wines. Nickel & Nickel is renowned for its single-varietal wines, they choose the best vineyards, revealing individual expressions of Cabernet.

This plot is planted in Rutherford , along the slope of a hill west of the Silverado Trail. The vineyard is all Cabernet Sauvignon on well-drained gravelly loam soil that receives a variety of exposures, depending on the block and location. The grapes are carefully selected by hand and sorted in the winery so that only the best fruit is used. Fermentation took place in stainless steel tanks with regular pumping over followed by a 16-day skin maceration. After vinification, the wine is aged in French oak barrels for 18 months . The result is a silky Cabernet with aromas of cassis , black berries , wild raspberry , blackberry , red plum , black pepper , cedar , hints of Asian spices , black tea and bitter cocoa . The palate is silky, well structured and polished, with fine-grained tannins that blend into a long and elegant finish.

In the United States, 90% of the wine produced comes from California. It was the influx of gold prospectors to California that boosted the California wine industry in the mid-19th century, particularly in the Sonoma and Napa region. At the start of the 20th century, there were 800 wineries. From 1919 to 1933 Prohibition destroyed the vast majority of the California wine industry so that by 1933, only 140 wineries remained producing wine. It was only from 1960 that the wine industry began to recover from Prohibition and California was primarily known for the production of fortified wines (in the style of Port). It was also in the 1960s that some of the most famous estates were created (Mondavi, Heitz Wine Cellars, Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, etc...). In 1976, a significant event took place: the legendary tasting competition better known as the "Judgment of Paris". He sees the greatest French wines opposing the new American wines. This May 24, an unexpected result shakes the world of wine, since to everyone's surprise, it is the United States which wins. However, this competition remains relatively unknown to the general public. Today, there is no doubt that the United States produces great wines. Even though California largely monopolizes the reputation of American wines with its excellent Zinfandels, the state of Oregon produces some of the best Pinot Noir in the world and the state of Washington offers excellent Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet-Sauvignon.