Product description
94 James Suckling
Very pretty stones, oyster shell, blueberries and underbrush character. The palate is very composed with lots of bright, tangy fruit, grainy tannins and a minerally yet at the same time fruit-driven finish. A unique wine. A blend of cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, merlot, malbec and petit verdot. Drink in 2020 even if delicious now.
92 Jeb Dunnuck
The entry-level wine is the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Affinity and it just about always delivers. I’m just now finishing cases of the 2003 and have enjoyed every bottle. The 2015 is 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and the balance Malbec and Petit Verdot, all of which spent 18 months in 60% new French oak. With a deep purple color and beautiful notes of crème de cassis, lead pencil, graphite, and scorched earth, this beauty is medium to full-bodied, nicely concentrated, and balanced, with good acidity and ripe tannin. Drink it anytime over the coming 10-15 years.
Winemaker Notes
Long a favorite of Craig fans, the Affinity release has evolved into a gorgeous estate-grown wine, now in its third vintage as a single-vineyard bottling from the La Londe Vineyard in the Mt. George foothills, just south of Stag’s Leap. As a single vineyard release, we are able to capture the unique expression of this extraordinary site. Affinity is now farmed for higher stress levels, the cane-pruned 30-year-old vines bearing just 2.8 tons per acre, offering a focused display of the alluvial, stony soils on this hillside site.
As with our other 2015 Cabernets, Affinity is startling for its sheer size and weight. The older vines deliver classic black raspberry, licorice, espresso bean and crushed stones in the nose and on the palate. The tiny yields are responsible for the intensity of the color and structure this year. The Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec help to give the Cabernet Sauvignon a lovely plushness and roundness in the middle. This beautiful wine should show well upon release, but a year or two (or a decade) of cellar time will help the wine show its best.
BLEND:
76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Cabernet Franc, 7% Merlot, 5% Malbec, 4% Petit Verdot
