For Vintage Year 2006

Wild Oak, the site of our Winery in Sonoma Valley, was named to honor Sonoma’s Heritage Oak trees. Wild Oak wines by St. Francis are created from grapes that have been hand-picked from small lots of elite terroir bordered by these Heritage Oaks through out Sonoma County. Our 2005 Wild Oak Cabernet Sauvignon exhibits the complementary qualities of mountainside vineyards from diverse locations. The pinnacle blocks at St. Francis’ estate Lagomarsino Vineyard in the eastern hills above Russian River Valley provides generous power and a luscious mouthfeel. The red volcanic soil and high altitude climate of our Sonoma Valley Nuns Canyon Vineyard give firm structure, along with the dark color, ample tannins and berrylike characteristics of mountain grown fruit. The McCoy Ranch in the Mayacamas Mountain region contributes intense Cabernet fruit and firm chewy Merlot to this wine. Another Merlot component comes from our very own Sonoma Valley Behler Vineyard’s superb Block 8.

This full-bodied wine starts off with great aromas of blue-black fruits, combined with notes of toasty chestnut. The mid-palate offers a rich array of flavors such as blackberry liqueur, licorice, and hints of tobacco.

Medium-weight, this wine still displays a distinct heartiness.

HARVEST October 2006
AGING Twenty-four Months
STORAGE French & American Oak
pH 3.62 TA 0.62g/100 mls
BOTTLING April 2009
ALCOHOL 14.6% by volume
AGING POTENTIAL 8 to 12 years
CASES PRODUCED 4000 cases

Wild Oak, the site of our Winery in Sonoma Valley, was named to honor Sonoma’s Heritage Oak trees. Wild Oak wines by St. Francis are created from grapes that have been hand-picked from small lots of elite terrior bordered by these Heritage Oaks through out Sonoma County.

The 2004 Wild Oak Cabernet Sauvignon shows the complementary qualities of mountainside vineyards from diverse locations. The pinnacle blocks at Lagomarsino Vineyard in the Russian River Valley provide generous power and luscious mouthfeel.

The red volcanic soil and high altitude climate of our Nuns Canyon Vineyard give firm structure, along with dark color, rich berrylike character and ample tannin.

The McCoy Ranch in the Mayacamas Mountains offers intense Cabernet and firm chewy Merlot: another Merlot component comes from our very own Behler Vineyard’s superb Block 8.

A touch of Rockpile’s Petit Verdot deepens the color and expands the texture and finish. This is an ideal table wine-big, aromatic, firmly structured yet soft and approachable.

Winemaker Notes:
2003 began with nearly ideal conditions for flavor development in the vineyard. The growing season was mostly warm and sunny, allowing for the development of dark color and ripe berry flavors. Harvest began relatively early and was accelerated by a “heat spike” in mid-September. Cabernet grapes from 2003 are defined by this heat spike – grapes that ripened before the heat spike displayed a range of flavors, from leaner cigar-box, dried herb flavors to ripe blueberry, black cherry and currant, while grapes that ripened after the heat spike had a super-ripe, jammy flavor profile. Across the board, 2003 Cabernet grapes had firm tannins and high sugars at harvest, resulting in very big, high-octane wines. The Wild Oak Cabernet wine lots were fermented in stainless steel upright fermenters using the Rhone Valley yeast isolates D245 and D21, which enhance the production of fruity esters. After primary fermentation and malolactic fermentation, the wines were racked to French oak barrels from the Nevers, Allier, Troncais and Vosges forests and coopered by cooperages including Boutes, Berthomieu, Sansaud, Demptos, Nadalie and Cadus. Wines were aged in barrel for two full years before individual barrels were selected for the final blend. No fining or filtration was done prior to bottling, and the wine was bottle-aged for an additional ten months prior to release. 16% Merlot and 5% Malbec were included in the final blend to soften the firm tannins characteristic of 2003 vintage Cabernet Sauvignon.

Tasting Notes:
Wild Oak Cabernet Sauvignon shows the complementary qualities of mountainside vineyards in diverse locations. The pinnacle blocks at Lagomarsino Vineyard provide generous power and luscious mouthfeel. The red volcanic soil and high altitude climate of the Nuns Canyon Vineyard give firm structure, along with dark color, rich berrylike character, and ample tannin. The McCoy Ranch in the Mayacamas Mountains offers intense Cabernet and firm, chewy Merlot; another Merlot component comes from the Behler Vineyard’s superb Block 8. A touch of Sonoma Valley Malbec further deepens the color and expands the texture and finish. This is an ideal table wine—big, aromatic, firmly structured yet soft, and approachable.

Harvest Date: September/October 2003
Aging: 24 Months
pH: 3.49/0.67 g/100ml
Storage/Barrels: 1005 French Oak
Bottling Date: March 2006
Alcohol: 14.5%
Composition: 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot, 5% Malbec
Case Production: 3,000 Cases