Winemaker Mike Trujillo speaks with great admiration of the 2001 vintage. “The 2001 vintage was a fantastic vintage for this vineyard. The climate that year reflects the ultimate expression of what Mother Nature can do with the unique soils and exposure of the hillside Herb Lamb Vineyard, in creating a serious and classic vineyard. 2001 shows off the opulence of the hillside fruit up front, while highlighting the stylish structure of the wine underneath. The wines from this vintage rival the famous 1994 and 1997 vintages in their intensity of flavor, concentrated color and wonderful balance.”

The 2001 vintage in the Napa Valley will be remembered in the vineyard for its early bud break and warm spring followed by record breaking frosts. Although many mountain vineyards saw damage due to April frosts, the Herb Lamb Vineyard at 400 to 600 feet in elevation, is protected by breezes flowing down valley through the hillside micro-climate.

Vines on the Herb Lamb Vineyard hillside bud and set earlier than others on the valley floor, but because there is less direct sun in the late afternoons, the growing season is lengthened considerably. Mountain vineyards don’t experience the heat spikes to the same degree that the valley floor does, and the soaring temperatures which came in May and June of 2001 led to an earlier ripening throughout the Napa Valley, but not in the hills. Typical foggy mornings and warm, not hot, summer days gave the grapes on Herb Lamb Vineyards perfect growing conditions for producing classic Cabernet Sauvignon.

As is typical, the grapes for this 80 case production were selectively picked twice from different blocks late in the season, in mid and late October, giving a serious and vineyard expressive wine that is bold and intense but not overly ripe.

The 2001 HL is a classic Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. As stated by winemaker Mike Trujillo, “It has the opulence of the 1997 and structure of the 1999. The 2001 HL Cabernet Sauvignon is going to be forward, fleshy and rich, but still nicely structured underneath with good tannins and acid.”

“The 2201 HL has lots of pretty fruit with great structure, remarkable texture and color saturation. The fruit characteristics typical of the vineyard are black spices, blueberry, licorice, and deep black berries. This remarkable vintage achieves the ultimate vineyard expression and terroir components. Wines from this vineyard never reflect any drying, inky, or tannic fruit.”

“We always methodically hand sort the grapes at the winery. My motto is ‘Nothing that isn’t ripe or grape goes into the fermenter.’ In order to achieve balance and texture, we practice maceration of up to 40 days for fruit extraction, but in this vintage, the rich flavors and textures came early.”

“Grapes from the H Block add lots of concentrated black fruit flavors, tasting almost licoricy and dense on the back of the tongue when the wine is young, becoming black current with sweet black fruit flavors as the wine matures. Fruit from J Block gives the wine a perfumed character. For the 2001 vintage, we sweetened the wine up a bit by using another Nadalie oak barrel to the traditional tight grain Taransaud barrels.”

Although a classic wine, the 2001 is also very tight, and probably will not open up fully for another year or two. But it will do nothing but get better, and ought to start to make its mark in three to five years after bottling. If you choose to open it sooner, try decanting vigorously. The 2001 vintage should age beautifully for the next 8-10 years in the cellar.