Producer's Notes:

Freed from the constraints of blending a varietally-designated reserve-tier wine (a Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon, for example, must be at least 85% Cabernet Sauvignon) we were able to pluck our favorite individual barrels from the stellar 2012 vintage for use in this blend. 

As is the case with the Red Mountain AVA in general, Cabernet Sauvignon’s influence here is paramount. Clone 2 and Clone 8 variants from our Heart of the Hill vineyard contribute opulent, powerful, velvety tannins and structure along with tremendous dark fruit. 

Old-vine Merlot from our Kiona Estate vineyard is incredibly aromatic, and complements Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon very well, matching it toe-to-toe in depth of character and structure. Traditional blending-mates Malbec, Petit Verdot, and Cabernet Franc all round out the wine. 

This wine represents a paradigm shift at Kiona Vineyards and Winery. The 2012 vintage was our 37th on Red Mountain, and this wine distills all that we have learned into a single bottle.