Petrified Forest Cabernet Knights Valley California 2015

Since the beginning of my career, I have been a fan of California wines.  When the opportunity to work directly with wineries in Napa Valley came up I jumped at the chance. I helped get these wines distribution in the Virginia and D.C. markets and hopefully beyond.

Petrified Forest Vineyards may have had their first harvest in 2009, but it’s roots stretch back to 1986. Arriving in the Napa Valley that year to assume a position in the medical field, Ken Piters was to begin his long love affair with the land, the vineyards, and the special feeling that is Knights Valley. Ken and Susan Piters moved to their seventy-four-acre Knights Valley ranch in 1987. The property had been part of the Booth Ranch, a summer retreat for a San Francisco family. Its old farmhouse and barn, both built in the late 1870’s, still remain.

Made by Dan Fitzgerald, this small production wine (only 192 cases produced) is aged for 18 months in 50% New and 50% Used French Oak Barrels. Layers of richness and intensive fruit flavors that continue to open up in the glass. To set the tone, the nose is charmed with deep scents of black and blue fruits dusted with hints of cocoa, vanilla, roasted coffee beans, green peppercorns, and toasted walnuts. While the deep, dark and
bold notes of black cherry, blueberry, cassis and firm structure are dominant at first, the wine becomes rounder and more opulent as the level of complexity rises. The balanced attack of velvety texture, bright acidity and fine-grained tannins lay the foundation for the earthy, mountain-driven characteristics of wild mushroom, fresh herbs, mineral and black pepper that add more dimension to the lingering finish. In the end, this is a Cab-lovers wine that gets better with more air or more time spent in the cellar.