![Freemark Abbey "Sycamore" Cabernet Sauvignon 2002 (Napa Valley, California) - [WA 93]](http://artisan.wine/cdn/shop/files/freemarkSycamoreCab04-w-2_55902ff1-9471-433e-a2b7-f1d67e0edc85_{width}x.png?v=1694720262)
Freemark Abbey "Sycamore" Cabernet Sauvignon 2002
(Napa Valley, California) - [WA 93]
Regular price $400.00 Sale price $359.97 Save $40.03
About the Winery:
The history of Freemark Abbey began in 1886, when Josephine Marlin Tychson became the first woman to build and operate a winery in California. The historic site where Josephine's winery, Tychson Cellars, once stood is now known as Freemark Abbey.
In the years that followed, Freemark Abbey went through a period of several different owners until 1966, when a group of partners purchased the winery. In only their second vintage, their Cabernet was selected to compete in The Judgement at Paris!
For four decades, until 2020, Ted Edwards was the winemaker, and while he is still on staff as winemaker emeritus and participates in various blending trials, day-to-day winemaking is now helmed by Kristy Melton, the winery's second woman winemaker. Since 2006, Freemark Abbey has been part of the Jackson Family Wines (JFW) portfolio.
About this Wine:
Located on the southern end of the Rutherford Bench, the small 24-acre (located about 1.2 miles south of Bosché) Sycamore Vineyard’s proximity to the Mayacamas Mountains provides the perfect climate for growing a rich, textured Cabernet. The wine is intense in aromatic complexity, reminiscent of blackberry, pomegranate syrup, black tea, and forest floor. The palate is rich and textured with flavors of forest fruits, dark chocolate, bay leaf, and warm oak spices. The ‘Rutherford dust’ is evident in the tannin structure, giving it textures that are bold but integrated, making it lovely to drink now with the capability to age in the cellar for decades.
Notes from the Winemaker:
Opaque dark ruby in color. Blackberry and dark currant dominate the depth of flavor with nuances of blackberry jam on toast, dark chocolate truffle with cocoa dust, cinnamon and clove. The oak is very well integrated, adding just the right amount of spice. The wine has great depth of black fruits with a strong expression of sweet black cherry. There is a complexity in the nose that hints of tobacco and a briary thicket. This full bodied cabernet sauvignon has well integrated tannin which yields a very pleasant, fruitful finish.
Grape Variety: 77% Cabernet Sauvignon 9% Merlot 8% Cabernet Franc 6% Petit Verdot
Aging: 27 months in French oak, 62% new
Ratings & Reviews:
93 Points - Wine Advocate:"At nearly 20 years of age, the deep garnet-hued 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon Sycamore (part of this year's annual library release) shows some brick at the rim and offers up classic cigar-box aromas of dried tobacco, cedar and vanilla, plus ample notions of dried fruit. It's medium to full-bodied, plush and velvety in feel, with a lingering finish and softly dusty tannins. Fully mature but in no danger of drying out soon, it should continue to drink well for at least another three or four years." – JC (May 2022)