Hourglass Blueline Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2012

It was the Blueline Estate vineyard that first lured winemaker Tony Biagi to Hourglass. The blocks of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, and Malbec were planted on an ancient riverbed of cobble and crushed stone in a unique microclimate of Napa Valley, incredible raw material for a truly gifted winemaker. The 2012 vintage, Tony’s first with us, was an ideal entrée to Hourglass: A long, moderate growing season, with many low to mid-80 degree days and cool evenings, allowed for slow phenolic maturation and great color development with good natural acidity, much like 2005. The cool evenings maintained higher acids and contributed the added dimension of tangy red fruit flavors in most of the varietals along with an extra charge of nervy energy to balance the tradition rich black fruit expression of the Blueline Estate.

With a variety of clonal selections and harvesting done in strategic stages, Tony achieved a broad spectrum of fruit characteristics, yielding as many as 16 different micro-lots of Cab from which to blend. The net result is a refined layering of flavors and energies.

Tasting Profile
The 2012 Blueline Estate Cabernet Sauvignon announces itself with a lifted perfume of rose oil, pungent blackberry, cedar, and wet crushed stones that forms a cascade of exotic aromatic layers. Rich flavors of blackberry pie, cranberry, and bittersweet dark chocolate form a lush and pure fruit expression to yield an expansive palate impression. Texturally refined, the ‘12 Blueline Estate Cabernet derives an energy and tensional balance from its sustained underscore of minerality. Past vintages of the Blueline Estate Cabernet typically deliver wider and deeper black fruit flavors in their youth. All present here, yet the ‘12 BLCS also lends dimensions of tangy red fruit layers to elicit even more nuance to its traditional markings. In all, this is one of the more complex vintages of Blueline Estate Cabernet Sauvignon.

Cellaring Potential
The 2012 BLCS is drinking beautifully upon release, yet its tight structural core and good acidity will allow it to develop more complex layers until 2035.