2019 Maquette
Sculpterra's 2019 Maquette features an estate grown blend of four Bordeaux varietal grapes. A unique flavor profile of earth and spice combine with dark fruits, mint, nuts and bittersweet chocolate. The wine is ageable and improves greatly with proper aeration where even greater bouquets can be expressed. Cabernet Franc is a big player in this blend and adds intense tannins, greatly prolonging the shelf life. The mouthfeel is framed with lovely textures, the wine opens up to cedar, black pepper, oregano, with a dusty texture and compelling structure. Upfront aromas of black currant, raspberry and licorice candy mingle around chalky dry tannins that are integrated and endure through the wine's finish. This complex and classic Cabernet blend tastes wonderful now and will improve with cellaring, tasting at it's best in 5-10 years.
Sculpterra's 2019 Maquette features an estate grown blend of four Bordeaux varietal grapes. A unique flavor profile of earth and spice combine with dark fruits, mint, nuts and bittersweet chocolate. The wine is ageable and improves greatly with proper aeration where even greater bouquets can be expressed. Cabernet Franc is a big player in this blend and adds intense tannins, greatly prolonging the shelf life. The mouthfeel is framed with lovely textures, the wine opens up to cedar, black pepper, oregano, with a dusty texture and compelling structure. Upfront aromas of black currant, raspberry and licorice candy mingle around chalky dry tannins that are integrated and endure through the wine's finish. This complex and classic Cabernet blend tastes wonderful now and will improve with cellaring, tasting at it's best in 5-10 years.
All harvested grapes were processed at Sculpterra winery in separate lots where specific yeasts were selected to ferment each unique lot. Typical fermentations last 10 days, but this time we extended fermentation to 3 weeks by fermenting the “crushed must” at cooler temperatures, hoping to increase the wines dark color and more delicate aromas. Pressing was conducted at low PSI and limited over processing the grape skins. From there, the wine settled in stainless tanks for 3 days before racking into barrels where secondary fermentation could be initiated. The wine aged for a total of 16 months in barrels; a mix of 225L, 300L and 500L barrels were used for aging. Cabernet Sauvignon “Chivos” block was aged in new Doreau French Oak Barrels. These medium plus toast barrels greatly increased the wine’s tannic taste while adding vanilla, coconut, coffee, and grilled components. Each lot aged separately, deriving unique and individual flavors for the full 16 months of aging. Finally, barrels were blended in May 2021 and a grand total of 600 cases were bottled.
| Download Wine Notes |
| Vintage | 2019 |
| Varietal | Maquette |
| Varietal Composition | 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc, 20% Merlot, & 10% Petit Verdot |
| Appellation | Paso Robles |
| Acid | 0.67 |
| PH | 3.60 |
| Residual Sugar | 0.04 |
| Alcohol | 14.50% |
| Volume | 750 ml |
| Bottling Date | 05/19/2021 |
| Cases Produced | 600 |
Sculpterra’s 2019 Maquette is an estate grown blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc & 10% Petit Verdot. The wine shows off dazzling deep crimson red color, rich cherry fruit and a nice finish of peppery spice and cocoa powder. All grapes were grown and harvested on the Frankel Family Estate. The Cabernet Sauvignon is a blend of 2 vineyard blocks; the Hilltop location known as “Autopista” and the valley floor vineyard named “Chivos.” These two blocks could not be more different! The Hilltop Cabernet with sandy soils sees extended daylight hours in the summer time and produces sweet grapes with concentrated color. The valley floor Cabernet is grown in a cooler microclimate and displays pungent black-pepper taste and tannic grape skins. Merlot is sourced from another Hilltop vineyard, where high winds and well-drained soils make for a balanced crop. Cabernet Franc, is grown right in front of the tasting room. This vineyard features trellis cross-arms which aid in adding increased light and wind into the vines’ dense canopy. Finally, Petit Verdot, grown in “Kathy’s Forest” vineyard, gets shaded from intense summer heat and therefore produces elegant wine with low alcohol and delicate mouthfeel. Overall, 2019 was a solid growing season with moderate heat in the summer. We harvest each block separately and produced all wines at Sculpterra’s small onsite winery.
