Rodney Strong Single Vineyard Cabernets/Greg Morthole

Recently I sat down with Greg Morthole Twice... Once at Rodney Strong Vineyards and winery... and again at a local restaurant with two great Cabernets.This was a full day,and an incredible meal with great food and wine in Sonoma county.Let's check out the tasting notes and then join Greg Morthole,as we open two great wines from Rodney Strong! WINEMAKING NOTES The 2012 Rockaway has wonderful concentrated flavors of red cherry, red currant and plum with a hint of sage and tobacco. The earthy minerality of the wine is balanced out by notes of baking spices with a rich, complex structure and a long lingering finish. Enjoy this wine now or cellar it for enjoyment in 8 to 10 years. The 2012 vintage started off warm and dry, with little to no frost. By mid-summer people were beginning to whisper about how perfect the growing season was going. Rain-free warm days and cool nights were the rule, with no storms or heat spikes. All four Cabernet Sauvignon blocks that were blended into this wine were picked on October 20th. The Cabernet came from the 1.3 acre southeast-facing block 7B from the backside of the ranch, part of the western-facing 7.5 acres of block 2C, which rises from 330 feet to 430 feet on the front side of the ranch, plus fruit from the 3.6 acre northfacing blocks 8A and 8C which were cofermented together in the same tank. The 1.5acre block of Malbec, sitting at 500 feet elevation, which we blend with the Cabernet in some vintages for its fruit and complexity was picked ten days earlier, on October 10th. HISTORY The Alexander Valley AVA is 22 miles long, ranging in elevation from 150 to 1,500 feet above sea level, and is home to our three single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon wines. Our winegrowers have found the very best grapes grow on higher elevated western slopes, or as they say, the “sweet spots”. Spread throughout our three vineyards, we’ve determined the best blocks are typically located just below the ridge tops with a western facing aspect to capture the full warmth and light of the afternoon sun. In the northernmost hills near our Brothers vineyard, with average growing-season temperatures of 67 degrees, heat dominates, allowing Cabernet Sauvignon to ripen well. In the middle of the valley, Rockaway vineyard, with average temperatures of 62 degrees, balances heat and Pacific Ocean cooling breezes – allowing for classic structure development. The even cooler Alexander’s Crown vineyard, with average temperatures of 59 degrees in the southern valley, yields more delicate, “feminine”style Cabernet Sauvignon. In the distance of only 12 short miles, average temperatures change eight degrees among our vineyards during growing season, thereby allowing three very different expressions of Cabernet Sauvignon. WINEMAKING NOTES The 2012 Brothers is a deeply rich wine with complex dark fruit flavors. The wine is bursting with blackberry, plum and wonderful chocolate notes followed by a round and seductive mid-palate and a long lingering finish. Enjoy this wine now or cellar it for enjoyment in 8 to 10 years. The 2012 vintage started off warm and dry, with little to no frost. By mid-summer people were beginning to whisper about how perfect the growing season was going. Rain-free warm days and cool nights were the rule, with no storms or heat spikes. Block 1B, is a gently eastern sloping block at an elevation of 450 feet at the base of the ranch and was picked on October 4th. The greenstone soil in block 1B is unique compared to the other blocks at Brothers, and perhaps as a consequence, the fruit from block 1B ripens significantly earlier than the other blocks. Block 8A, which is at about 850 feet elevation was picked on October 10th, and blocks 5 mid and 5 North are on a steep hillside ranging from 700-800feet elevation and were picked on October 11th. HISTORY The Alexander Valley AVA is 22 miles long, ranging in elevation from 150 to 1,500 feet above sea level, and is home to our three single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon wines. Our winegrowers have found the very best grapes grow on higher elevated western slopes, or as they say, the “sweet spots”. Spread throughout our three vineyards, we’ve determined the best blocks are typically located just below the ridge tops with a western facing aspect to capture the full warmth and light of the afternoon sun. In the northernmost hills near our Brothers vineyard, with average growing-season temperatures of 67 degrees, heat dominates, allowing Cabernet Sauvignon to ripen well. In the middle of the valley, Rockaway vineyard, with average temperatures of 62 degrees, balances heat and Pacific Ocean cooling breezes – allowing for classic structure development. The even cooler Alexander’s Crown vineyard, with average temperatures of 59 degrees in the southern valley, yields more delicate, “feminine”style Cabernet Sauvignon. In the distance of only 12 short miles, average temperatures change eight degrees among our vineyards during growing season, thereby allowing three very different expressions of Cabernet Sauvignon. THE VINEYARDS In the hills to the east of the small town of Cloverdale, Brothers spans 141 acres, nearly all planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, with smaller amounts of other Bordeaux varieties. The vineyard is on well-drained loam underlain by sandstone, shale, and ancient greenstone. Its elevations, surpassing 1,000 feet, and its primarily western aspect perfectly situate the vines to capture the full warmth and light of the afternoon sun, ripening Cabernet well into the chocolate and black fruit profile, with exceptional richness. We are very lucky people,and we ask that you please join us for this wine country feast!Cheers! Click here as we have food on the table.