Airfield Estates Reserve Cabernet-Sauvignon
WHY WE LOVE IT
- 100% Estate Grown.
- Airfield Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is crafted from the finest blocks on the estate vineyard.
- From winter through harvest, they meticulously manage the vineyard to ensure a small crop load, resulting in grapes with concentrated flavors and ripeness.
- Vegan Friendly.
Varietal: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Elaboration: The grapes were destemmed, sorted with an optical sorter, and cold-soaked for 48 hours before being inoculated with three yeast strains. During fermentation, we focus on bold flavors and balanced structure by aggressively extracting early with aerated pump-overs and délestage, tapering off as alcohol develops to avoid over-extraction. After fermentation, the wine underwent a 17-day extended maceration to enhance dark fruit flavors, richness, and complexity. The free-run wine was separated from the press wine and then aged for 22 months in 85% new French oak and 15% 1 to 3-year-old French Oak. Malolactic fermentation followed by lees stirring over four months added softness and texture, creating a rounder mouthfeel. This meticulous process results in a bold, elegant Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon with rich flavors and depth.
Tasting Notes: The grapes were destemmed, sorted with an optical sorter, and cold-soaked for 48 hours before being inoculated with three yeast strains. During fermentation, we focus on bold flavors and balanced structure by aggressively extracting early with aerated pump-overs and délestage, tapering off as alcohol develops to avoid over-extraction. After fermentation, the wine underwent a 17-day extended maceration to enhance dark fruit flavors, richness, and complexity. The free-run wine was separated from the press wine and then aged for 22 months in 85% new French oak and 15% 1 to 3-year-old French Oak. Malolactic fermentation followed by lees stirring over four months added softness and texture, creating a rounder mouthfeel. This meticulous process results in a bold, elegant Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon with rich flavors and depth.
PRESS
2021 – 92 Vinous
2020 – 90 Wine Advocate | 91 James Suckling | 90 Wine Enthusiast | 90 Vinous
PRODUCER BACKGROUND
Airfield Estates is a fourth-generation family vineyard based in the Yakima Valley, Washington. Today the winery is overseen by brother-sister duo Marcus Miller and Lori Stevens. The siblings prepared themselves for this endeavor. Marcus pursued an MBA in Finance and a degree in Viticulture and Enology, interning at Canoe Ridge in Walla Walla, he also worked as winemaker at Tsilan Cellars in Chelan and harvester at Montana Brancott Winery in Marlborough, New Zealand. Laurie obtained a Master’s in Wine Business from the University of Adelaide in Adelaide, South Australia, with a background in retail distribution management..
Prior to its farming days, Airfield Estates operated as a training base for hundreds of Army Air Corps pilots during World War II. The airbase closed in 1944, and the airplane hangars and other buildings were auctioned off to the Miller family for $1. The ranch produced alfalfa, asparagus, potatoes, onions, and oats, as well as cattle and hogs. Founder H. Lloyd Miller’s entrepreneurial spirit brought him in contact with President Roosevelt to find the funding for the Rosa Canal Project in the Yakima Valley, enabling irrigation water access from the high mountains to the soon-to-be established 830-acre winery. In 1967, Don Miller, the current owner’s grandfather, planted three “test” varietals, Riesling, Gewürztraminer, and Cabernet Sauvignon, which would lead to more than 20 different varietals being greenhouse-propagated and commercially planted by 1971 as the oldest established AVA in Washington State.