Hundred Acre Wraith 2016
Hundred Acre Wraith 2016. The 2016 vintage was the beginning of the end of the drought in Napa Valley. The vines were finally given a break with close to normal amount of rain in the winter preceding the vintage. 2016 was cooler overall than 2014 & 2015, it was warm and dry, but without the massive spikes in temperature that challenged the previous two years. 2016 was the kind of year where even a blind squirrel can find a nut, so most wineries could coast along and make good wine. We don’t coast, so 2016 was an epic vintage for us, one for the ages.
Hundred Acre is an estate based in St Helena in the Napa Valley. It is particularly known for its opulent, single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon wines, which regularly achieve top scores from from the major wine critics and publications, and always sell out on release.
The vineyard is managed carefully, in such a way that the practices are commensurate with the price of the wines. Vines are pruned to one grape cluster per vine, producing very low yields, and five passes are made at harvest time. At the winery, grapes are sorted berry by berry, and fermented in French oak, usually 500 litre puncheons. Aging time for the wines varies from vintage to vintage, but two years is not out of the ordinary.
