ÆRENA Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 | Bursting with opulent black fruit
ÆRENA Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 delivers a beautifully orchestrated Red Hills Cab. With a feminine element to its aromas of red flowers, Bing cherry, and wild strawberry fields. While lively on the palate with a mix of vibrant red and black fruits. Plus graphite, licorice, and baking spices this is an any-occasion Cabernet. And with silky structure and finesse reflective of the red soils of the region.
More Red Wine Gems under $35
The ÆRENA Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 is bursting with opulent black fruit layered with pronounced oak-driven complexity. In addition, smoke, tobacco, and dark chocolate—buttressed by silky yet firm tannins. While it doesn’t hurt that winemaker Aaron Pott, an alum of Troplong Mondot, Figeac, Quintessa, and Newton, put the finishing touches on this polished, deep-fruited gem.
Andy Beckstoffer: “The Best Cabernet Sauvignon Growing Region I’ve Ever Seen”
Neighboring Napa Valley directly to the northwest, Red Hills is the New World’s next great wine region. That’s what California’s preeminent grape grower Andy Beckstoffer, thinks, and after tasting the Oakville-Esque ÆRENA Cabernet Sauvignon 2017, crafted with 100% Beckstoffer-grown Red Hills fruit, we have no reason to doubt him.
Explore today’s finds at Wine Access
Grown 2,400 feet up in the obsidian and iron-rich soils that give the Red Hills AVA its name. Notably, the ÆRENA Cabernet Sauvignon is a poster child for the untapped brilliance that Beckstoffer so adores. Here, the skies are crystal clear and the rugged mountain Cabernet receives abundant sunlight abetting ripening and concentrating black fruit flavors—black cherry, black plum, and summertime blackberry—while cooler temperatures prolong the growing season, enhancing the grapes’ depth and complexity and yielding notes of licorice, dark chocolate, and graphite.
Winemaker Aaron Pott | Superstar origins in quality, but not in price
ÆRENA Wines owner Michael Polenske (also the founder of Blackbird Vineyards) chose well in handing the winemaking reins to Aaron Pott. After spending time at some of the greatest estates in both Napa and Bordeaux, Pott knows exactly what to do with Cabernet Sauvignon. His approach places Beckstoffer’s Red Hills fruit on a pedestal. While at the very center of this wine, with seamlessly integrated oak adding polish, refinement, and nuance. Of course, the result could easily pass for a Napa Valley bottling bearing a much heftier price tag. But for now, the 2017 ÆRENA is available for an amazing price.
