Hawk and Horse Vineyards was founded close to 15 years ago. It remains what it started as, a family owned and run winery specializing in a couple of small lot wines. I’ve become familiar with (and fond of) their releases over the last couple of vintages. So I was looking forward to tasting their newest Cabernet Sauvignon.
The Hawk and Horse Vineyards 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon is an estate wine. All of the fruit comes from the winery’s property in the Red Hills AVA of Lake County. They farm their 18 acre mountain property utilizing Biodynamic and Organic methods. The 2009 vintage is a 100% varietal wine. After fermentation this wine was aged over 23 months in entirely new French oak. 1,350 cases were produced and it has a suggested retail price of $65.00.
Rose petals, cherries and wisps of cinnamon all emerge with conviction from the nose of this 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon. Red fruits are prominent through the palate with black fruit characteristics playing a supporting role. Black pepper and hints of Bay are present as well. The finish is long and sustained with elements of Rhubarb, sour cherry, dusty chocolate and earth all in play. The well integrated tannins and solid acidity provide great structure and backbone for this offering. This wine works extremely well with hearty cuisine.
This is another solid entry from the folks at Hawk and Horse Vineyards. One vintage after another they’re shepherding their property so they can use it to craft well made releases such as this. While this Cabernet is delicious now I do believe it will benefit from a couple more years of bottle age. If you’re drinking it now, I’d recommend decanting it for a few hours. However if you can wait, lay it down for 2-3 years and reap the rewards of patience.