"Based on 100% Cabernet Sauvignon and aged 19 months in 50% new French oak, the 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon Block Five offers beautiful darker blue and black fruits intermixed with liquid violets, dark chocolate, and hints of iron. It's full-bodied and concentrated on the palate, with ripe, polished tannins, no hard edges, and a great finish. The balance, purity and finesse here are exceptional, and with roughly 162 cases produced, this is a wine that will evolve gracefully for two decates or more. Drink 2025-2045."
96+ points, Jeb Dunnuck
The grapes for this wine were hand selected in the vineyard when they were harvested from a single block on October 19 and 26 and then hand sorted twice in the winery to make sure only the best reached the fermentation tank. Once in the tank, the grapes sat cold a few days developing color, flavor and aroma before starting to ferment. The tank was gently punched down and pumped over for 16 days to extract all the color, aroma and flavor from the grapes carefully, then the juice was drained and skins pressed before being filled into barrels. The wine finished a native malolactic fermentation in the barrels in about two months and was aged for 19 months in small French oak barrels (50% new) and bottled in June 2025.
Pretty notes of powdered cocoa over black plum on the nose then lead to a spice box with nutmeg and cinnamon hinting at mole sauce, and some saddle leather and dusty earth in the 2023 BLOCK FIVE. A little more darker toned than some vintages, it is still boisterous on the palate with sweet dark cherries that fan out and reveal anise, and notes of coffee and cigar in a long finish that is persistent and youthful.
