Ad Ripa Happy Canyon AVA Cabernet Sauvignon 2021
(Santa Barbara, California) - [WA 92]

About the winery:

• Practicing Organic
• 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
• Happy Canyon Vineyard & China Blue Vineyard (Happy Canyon AVA)
• Happy Canyon Vineyard is a steep, west-facing slope with river cobble soils
• China Blue Vineyard has clay loam soils, with red chert and serpentine cobbles
• Chine Blue is the winery’s monopole, farmed by the Ad Ripa team
• Clones: 4, 8, 28, and To Kalon
• Planted in 2001, 2011, and 2016
• 100% Destemmed
• Native yeast fermentation in oak, open-top fermenters
• Two weeks on the skins, with gentle extraction using pumpovers
• Aged 22 months in French oak barrels (50% new)
• Bottled unfined and unfiltered
• 13.5% abv

About the wine:
Sourced from own rooted vines planted at the Happy Canyon Vineyard in the east side of the Santa Ynez Valley. The wine is fermented using native yeast. Once dry, we rack the juice and press off the whole cluster lots. The wine is transferred to neutral oak barrels for the winter. Once malo is complete we transfer to tank prior to bottling.

Ratings & Reviews

92 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate:
"Sourced predominately from younger vines at China Blue Vineyard, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon is poised, understated and alluring on the nose. It displays clean, harmonious, dark-fruited flavors lifted by subtle herbal accents and gravelly undertones, introducing a medium-bodied yet elegant palate with admirable clarity and focus. The finish is beautifully delineated and balanced, showing the poise that Bordeaux varieties can achieve in Happy Canyon when approached with a deft touch."