Grand Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

This Grand Reserve edition of Piattelli Cabernet Sauvignon is groomed to elevate and enhance Cabernet's unique structured character. A fussy varietal requiring extended growing time and constant attention, Piattelli transforms the smallest grape in the vineyard into the biggest flavor in the winery.

VINIFICATION:

From shoot to shelf, Piattelli wine results from tireless personal oversight by winemaker Valeria Antolin and general director Gabriel Fidel. With consultant Roberto de la Mota and an expert staff, they constantly pursue vinicultural perfection.

• Grapes were hand-picked and destemmed
• Grapes underwent 5 days of cold maceration
• Fermented in 5,000 to 10,000-liter stainless steel tanks
• Manual punch-down for optimal juice/skin interaction

AGING: Grand Reserve Cabernet was aged for 12 months in small, first- or second-use French- and American-oak barrels and then bottle-aged an additional 12 months.

TASTING NOTES:

Deep burgundy in color, Grand Reserve Cabernet's poignant cedar, mint, and black pepper bouquet seamlessly blends into a spicy, chocolate-covered-cherry and ripe plum flavor that lingers with a round tannin pull, finishing with an understated-yet-resonant oak.

TUPUNGATO, WEST UCO VALLEY, MENDOZA:

• Elevation: 3,527 feet
• Ideal temperature for fussy Cabernet grapes, which removes inherent herbaceous flavors
• Water is irrigated from the Andes mountains
• Warm dry days, cool nights maximize color and tannins
• Arid environment minimizes common viticultural challenges
• Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are grown on 30-year-old vines, which are managed to yield only 3.74 pounds of fruit per vine and 3.3 tons per acre

WINEMAKER NOTES:

When we created Grand Reserve Cabernet, our aim was to take one of the world's most common table wines and make it transcendent and decidedly extraordinary. Did we succeed? Email your feedback here.