Artefact, at the foot of Simmons Canyon, hails from a rare, rocky site that only a winemaker could love - 175 feet or so of fractured volcanic rock with tiny hillside pebbles all across the top. The result is a wine as uniquely beautiful as its place, with gobs of fruit, but also huge minerality from all of the rock. Dense, ruby purple/black in color with aromatics that are classic Napa Cab, with tons of purple fruit, red currants, exotic spice, rich vanilla and oodles of minerality. On the palate, the wine has a divine balance of power and freshness with a suave, silky texture, leading to a huge splash of a finish - deep, powerful fruit and sweet tannins.
The 2023 Artefact is a blend of 98% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet-purple colored, it sails from the glass with energetic notes of black and red currants, wild blueberries, and bay leaves, plus hints of crushed rocks, mossy tree bark, and forest floor. The full-bodied palate delivers a rock-solid backbone of firm, grainy tannins and great tension, finishing long and savory.
A huge, concentrated, deep and mineral-laden red that's big and powerful but beautifully polished. So saturated, velvety and expansive, with cocoa, cassis, vanilla bean, blackcurrants, black cherries and graphite. It's full-bodied and fully tannic, yet comes off as silky due to the fine-grained nature of the tannins. Drink now or hold.
Cassis, liquid violets, spicy wood, and graphite as well as some crushed stone all emerge from the 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon Artefact Kenefick Vineyard Block 7. Based on 98% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Petit Verdot aged 19 months in 100% new French oak, it's medium to full-bodied, with a concentrated, layered mouthfeel, plenty of tannins, nicely integrated acidity, ample mid-palate depth, and outstanding length. This ultra-classic, richer, textured effort will benefit from a few years of bottle age and keep for two decades. There are 155 cases produced. Drink 2027-2047.
Sourced from Kenefick Ranch in Calistoga, where the vines are rooted in the Cortina soil series eroded from Simmons Canyon, this Cabernet Sauvignon was aged for 20 months in 100% new French oak and bottled unfined and unfiltered. A total crowd-pleaser, it strutted its stuff in the 2022 vintage, but the 2023 is a notch above–showing juicy, plump dark berry and blueberry fruit, with round, full tannins and velvety dark fruit infused with savoury sagebrush and sweet toasty oak spice. Totally pleasing and delicious.
