2006 August Briggs 'Two Moon Vineyard' Dry Creek Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Dry Creek Valley would seem to be an odd place to produce mountain Cabernet. Stan Simpson’s remote “Two Moon Vineyard,” while within the Dry Creek appellation, is located on a steep slope in the mountains far above and miles west of the valley floor. This vineyard is especially appealing because of its razor thin soils and high altitude. These factors lead to small crop levels of high intensity, small berried fruit with substantial tannins.

Typical of this vineyard, the 2006 August Briggs “Two Moon Vineyard” Cabernet Sauvignon is a powerful wine. Upfront there are dense fruit flavors of blackberry, raspberry and plum, leading to a juicy, earthy, ground cocoa finish. Drink now for a BIG cab experience, but save a few bottles to see how it softens and ages for the long haul. Best between 2010 and 2018. Pour it right on top of the biggest ribeye steak!

After harvest, a two day cold soak helped to gain optimum flavor and color extraction; gentle cap punchdowns and pumpovers during fermentation completed maximum extraction and imparted the pure Cabernet “essence” these grapes always have. When the wine achieved dryness, the must was gently pressed and put to barrel to go through malo-lactic fermentation. The wine was barrel aged for 20 months (25% new American Oak, 50% 2-3 year old French Oak, 25% 2-3 year-old American Oak) prior to bottling.
Only 189 cases were produced.