Winemaker Notes

My dad, Christopher Cobden Davis (“the professor”), loves a good Cab, so we started producing Cabernet Sauvignon in 2015 (and threw him on the label).The 2020 vintage continues with the excellence that this vineyard offers. The nose is rich with dark fruit and baking spices. The mouthfeel is delicately soft, with tannins that coat the palate but don’t overwhelm. Flavors of dark berries, spice, and subtle oak are balanced and linger in the mouth. 

Vineyards

The Old Federal Vineyard is a historic part of Napa vineyard history as well as grapegrowing history in general. Located within the original To-Kalon vineyard site just off Oakville Grade, it was initially used for rootstock testing by H.W Crabb, the original owner of the To-Kolan site. In 1922, this 20 acre section of the To-Kolan vineyard was purchased by the USDA to continue research on rootstocks and grapevines, hence the name “Old Federal Vineyard”. Today the site is owned by UC Davis and some experimentation is still done in parts of the vineyard, but luckily for us, some of the fruit is still farmed for wine production and yields fruit that is dense and complex and reminds us why Oakville is considered one of the greatest locations for growing Cabernet in the world. 

Technical Notes

Barrel Description: 50% new French Oak, 50% once used French Oak,
Darnajou, Gamba, and Taransaud.
Barrel aging: 22 months
Variety: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
pH: 3.59
TA: 6.3 g/L
VA: 0.62 g/L
Alc: 14.8%