Technical info
Alcohol
14.6%
Varietal
Cabernet Sauvignon
Appellation
Mt. Veeder, Napa Valley
Winemaking
Beringer’s reserve vineyards offer Cabernet Sauvignon of such quality that a minimalist approach to winemaking best preserves the integrity of each site’s terroir expression. Each parcel is vinified separately and monitored carefully from the moment the fruit comes into the winery at harvest. Tailored pump-over techniques are used for optimal extraction, and the wine is aged in hand-selected, custom-toasted barrels of French oak. This 2022 Lampyridae Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon aged for 22 months in 100% new French oak barrels.
Vintage
The first half of the 2022 harvest started calm and early, with healthy vineyards offering fruit with bright acidity, fruit-forward flavors, and strong yields for white varietals and thin-skinned reds, like Pinot Noir. Then, California experienced a historic heat wave in early September that ramped up the pace of ripening, compelling a fast and furious harvest as winemakers worked to pick fruit at its best quality. Fortunately, strong vines and proactive irrigation helped many vineyards survive the heat. The second half was much more predictable with cooler temperatures through October, so that later-ripening red varieties, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, could develop their full flavor and tannin profile.
Vineyards
Lampyridae, “firefly” in Latin, is Napa's highest vineyard at approximately 2,400 feet elevation atop Mt. Veeder. On clear days you can see all the way to San Francisco. This picturesque vineyard sits high above the fog layer and has longer hours of sunshine and warmer nights, but days are cooler than lower elevation vineyards. One of the newest vineyards in the Private Reserve line-up, Lampyridae’s rocky ash soils limit vine growth and yield intensely concentrated fruit. Careful attention is paid to vineyard blocks, which are kept separate and vinified with a goal of extracting maximum flavor.
