William Knuttel Windsor Oaks Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 | From ‘Game-Changing’ 2013 Vintage

92WA | William Knuttel Windsor Oaks Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 presents black plum hue with brick rim. Deep black cherry and Santa Rosa plum aromas give way to dark cassis laced with cigar-tobacco notes on the mid-palate. Tertiary notes of black pepper, bittersweet chocolate, and cola-nut add an extra dimension of complexity. A well-integrated package that is held together with appealing powdery tannins. Ready to enjoy with 20-30 minutes of aeration time with the ability to cellar through 2025.

Chalk Hill AVA

Hand-harvested from one block of vines, fruit for the William Knuttel Windsor Oaks Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 was fermented with native yeast, then the free-run juice was racked into eight French oak barrels: four new, four twice-used. That’s where they spent 20 months before being bottled in June of 2015. The finished wine is rich in fruit, with tobacco notes and fine-grained tannins. We are fortunate to have gotten what we did of the 196 cases produced.  And our clients who act fast claiming our allocation will be grateful they did.

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Planted on well-drained hillsides that are exposed to the cooling breezes off the Russian River. Then revered viticulturist Douglas Lumgair re-trained the vines in the mid-1990s, giving them optimum sun exposure.

Because of the AVA’s cool tendencies, we keep an eye on Chalk Hill in the warm, dry vintages.  That’s the time when a Bordelaise confluence of conditions – steady warmth, plenty of sunshine, a dramatic diurnal temperature shift – can yield Cabernets that rival the best of Napa. Unsurprisingly, 2013 was equally kind to both sides of the Mayacamas. Plus it bestowed ideal conditions upon the Chalk Hill AVA that Knuttel parlayed into a powerhouse from the slopes of Windsor Oaks.

William (Bill) Knuttel

Bill Knuttel’s knowledge of North Coast terroir is deep and wide. He made his name crafting Pinot Noir for Saintsbury in Carneros, and spent time as winemaker at Dry Creek Vineyard. But it was his tenure as winemaker and executive vice president of Chalk Hill Estate, the winery that distinguished Chalk Hill as one of Sonoma County’s top spots for Bordeaux varieties, that Knuttel first discovered the magnificent Cabernet Sauvignons of Windsor Oaks Vineyard.