2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
This elite Cabernet Sauvignon showcases the best fruit from two Frankel Vineyard Cabernet blocks. The dark fruit flavors are concentrated and moderately to heavy tannins hold true to the finish. The aromas are dominated by black fruit, bittersweet chocolate, and olive tapenade flavors. Overall, a very classic example of this grape variety, this is what a reserve should taste like! It’s a mouth-filling wine with a nice gripping texture that matches the concentration of the deep black cherry, vanilla, grilled meats, and black pepper tang. Boasting fascinating aromas, with notes of coffee, plum, violets, cedar, and spice. The palate is big and full, yet at the same time soft and polished. It's instantly delicious upon release in late 2023, and it will age through 2027.
As mentioned, these grapes were the last grapes to be harvested on the Frankel Family Estate. In fact, we waited until the last conceivable moment to pick the grapes. Rain was on the way and we picked just six hours before a 1-inch downpour ended the 2021 harvest. The Cabernet “Chivos” and “Autopista” blocks were fermented in both stainless steel tanks and new 500L French and Hungarian barrels. This barrel-style fermentation makes the wine truly something special, the new toast seeps into the wine, increasing the wine's mouthfeel, dark color, and smooth texture. Fermentation lasted two weeks before we pressed, racked, and barreled down the three lots in this wine. We decided to do extended barrel aging for this wine, giving the wine plenty of time to soak up the woody bouquets. In total, just 360 cases were bottled, making this the smallest bottling from the 2021 vintage.
| Vintage | 2022 |
| Varietal | Cabernet Sauvignon |
| Varietal Composition | 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Petite Siran |
| Appellation | Paso Robles |
| Vineyard | Frankel Family Estate |
| Acid | 0.67 g/100 ml |
| PH | 3.5 |
| Residual Sugar | 0.02 g/100 ml |
| Alcohol | 14.00% |
| Volume | 750 ml |
| Bottling Date | 08/14/2024 |
| Cases Produced | 240 |
| Country of Origin | UNITED STATES |
| State of Origin | California |
2021 was a fantastic vintage for Sculpterra’s Cabernet Sauvignon wines, thus it was a no-brainer to bottle up the cream of the crop Cab blend: the 2021 Reserve. Our Cabernet reserve program has been centered around the “Chivos” block, making this the predominant part of the blend and adding other lots around it. Chivos is such a classic Cabernet block and is now a 25-year-old vineyard. The vines are cane-pruned, head-trained, and only produce two tons per acre. This part of the vineyard features dramatic dangerous slopes, making it impossible to machine pick, and therefore must be hand harvested. The stony clay-loam soils provide the perfect foundation for these old vine, late-ripening Cabernet. In fact, this block is always the last to be harvested on the property. A small percentage of “Autopista” Hilltop Cabernet was added to this blend. This Hilltop Cabernet ripened earlier and tends to give more up-front fruit flavors. Finally, we added one barrel of Petite Sirah to this wine, a great addition for depth, richness, and tannins.
Paul Frankel's Background
Winemaking and grape growing is Paul’s passion! From an early age, Paul showed interest and excelled in science, botany, and chemistry. Most of all Paul loved the outdoors and working with his hands. His love for farming shows through in the quality of his wines. He has conducted numerous vineyard and winemaking experiments that have resulted in award-winning wines. Paul has studied the Frankel Ranch property during his lifetime and he is very well versed in soil types and meso climates on the estate. Paul grew up on the property and was mentored by winemakers Shannon O’Neil and Jason Bushong. Paul’s father and Dr. Warren Frankel planted the 125-acre vineyard and built the winery, opening the tasting room in October 2007. Paul graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a Bachelor’s Degree in Viticulture and Enology. While in college he interned at the Cal Poly Pilot Winery and worked 2 seasons at Maloy O’Neill Winery. In fact, Paul took two fall quarters off to make Sculpterra’s wines. His first vintage as a head winemaker was 2008 making 19 total tons. During harvest Paul puts in 14-hour days, conducting the pick, crush, and press.
