Our 2014 Lot 1 Cabernet Sauvignon has impressive depth, power and complexity—perennial hallmarks of Lot 1—starting with the intense aromas of blackberry jam, boysenberry and crème brulee. The palate has striking power and breadth and is filled with flavors that include blackberry, cherry, black currant and caramel in a plush mouthfeel. The exceptionally long, polished finish evolves with layers of fruit and toasted oak. The fine tannins and outstanding balance of power and elegance will allow this wine to age for decades.

Our 2015 Lot 1 Cabernet Sauvignon has impressive depth, power and complexity—perennial hallmarks of Lot 1—starting with the intense aromas of plum, black currant and Italian leather. The palate has striking power and breadth and is filled with notes of blackberry reduction, cherry liquor, toasted caramel and much more in a plush mouthfeel. The exceptionally long, polished finish evolves with layers of fruit and toasted oak. The fine tannins and outstanding balance of power and elegance will allow this wine to age for decades. We selected the grapes for this vintage from some of the best sites in Napa Valley, including Stagecoach Vineyard and vineyards in Oakville, Stags Leap, Coombsville and on the Silverado Bench. The 2015 season was warm and dry, and one of the earliest we’ve seen. It started with warm temperatures in late winter and spring that led to an early bud break. A cool May during bloom created a smaller than average crop, then mild weather through spring, summer and harvest allowed slow, even ripening that built full ripeness and complexity. The result was grapes with intense aromatics, concentrated ripe fruit flavors and outstanding structure and balance. The grapes were hand-harvested in half-ton picking bins and hand-sorted before destemming and partial crushing. Then the grapes were fed into small lot, open top fermenters for a 3-day cold soak before primary fermentation. A small percentage was barrel fermented. The wine remained on skins for more than two weeks with alternating punch downs and pump overs, then was gravity fed and gently pressed in our basket press. Next, the wine was gravity fed into French oak barrels for malolactic fermentation and aging. We kept barrel lots separate until the blend was assembled in August then sent back to barrel to allow flavors to integrate. Barrel aging was entirely in French oak, 97% new, for a total of 20 months, then another 12 months were spent in bottle.

Lot No. 1 Cabernet Sauvignon is our most carefully crafted wine, showcasing top blocks from esteemed Napa Valley vineyards and executed with the highest attention to detail at every step of the winemaking process. The 2016 vintage pulses with complexity – layers of black raspberry and macerated black cherry join with blueberry and juicy black currant on a wave of dark fruit tones. The plush, full-bodied mouthfeel reveals hints of cedar, cloves and coffee on a red carpet of velvety tannins.

Lot No. 1 is something of a mosaic of iconic appellations and vineyards – an assemblage of Napa Valley’s best mountain, benchland and valley floor fruit. The 2016 vintage is comprised of Cabernet from Atlas Peak, Howell Mountain, Stags Leap, Mount Veeder and the greater Napa Valley AVA. From a growing perspective, 2016 was nearly ideal, with a consistently warm spring and summer guiding grapes to full and even ripeness. The steadiness of the season allowed us to be highly selective in our sourcing and unhurried with our pick times. Come harvest, which for this wine occurred between September 27 and October 10, all fruit was picked and sorted by hand.

Our concept of small-lot winemaking dates back to 1948, when Louis M. Martini began ranking his most exceptional Cabernet lots to use for a special selection blend. We honor this attention to detail with every vintage we make, fermenting Lot No. 1 in small open-top tanks, which allow for a high level of precision when extracting color and flavor. All lots were alternately punched down and pumped over up to four times daily to build the desired foundation for the wine’s mouthfeel. Our barrel program for Lot No. 1 is also unique, with the primary component being 36-month air dried French oak. This longer drying time encourages rich tannin structure throughout the duration of the wine’s 21 months in barrel (100% French oak, 93% new)