The Mascot 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley

The Mascot is a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon made from distinct hillside vineyards; specifically the younger vines of BOND, Harlan Estate, and Promontory. It started out as a small project shared among the family, winemaking team, and close friends. Drawing fruit from blocks of recently replanted vineyards, The Mascot shares a glimpse into the evolution of its parent estates: a youthful snapshot of their future… With an athletic balance of energy and density, The Mascot is expressive and approachable early in its life with the potential to evolve long into the future…

Each of the three “parent” properties (BOND, Harlan Estate, and Promontory)contributes components to The Mascot, and the winemaking teams – led by Cory Empting, Director of Winegrowing for the family domain – work collaboratively to weave together the final blend. The winemaking teams evaluate the young vine lots at the blending table between 6 and 14 months after fermentation, selecting the finest for inclusion in The Mascot. In total, The Mascot is aged in barrel for nearly three years prior to bottling and another 18 months in bottle prior to release.

Winery  Notes: “Winter leading into the 2019 growing season delivered impressive rainfall (nearly 30 inches in the first four months) that lasted into May. The cool, wet spring delayed bud break; yet this respite in a sequence of mostly arid years imbued the young vines with renewed energy. This potential for vigor required thorough and thoughtful pruning, early in the season, to ensure that energy would be most nobly directed: to maturing the fruit. Early autumn was met with even and steady warmth, and picking commenced in mid-September and stretched across five and a half weeks. This “leisurely” approach allowed for the collection of the fruit in precise, well-delineated passes, and the wine extracted from these berries confirmed our decision to, in places, wait a little longer. The wine is beautifully supple with a broadly fanned aromatic spectrum and an effortless depth of fruit. From a center point on the palate, the 2019 vintage undulates outward in all directions. Gentle, velvety swells pause and fold in on themselves, their liquid whorls of refined tannin and gratifying acidity gliding across the surface of smooth curves before retreating gradually to reveal, on the finish, the burnished dimensions beneath.”