2011 Francis Coppola Director’s Cabernet Sauvignon

History

Several years ago when the Coppola family opened the doors to its wine and food destination in Sonoma County, California, the winemaking team was asked to create a series of wines that would reflect its own artistic interpretation of Sonoma County.

The winemakers decided to produce two separate collections in order to showcase Sonoma County as one of the premier wine growing regions of the world. The first—Director’s Cut—offers limited production wines that are grown in the distinct sub-appellations of Sonoma, small areas that produce specific terroir traits we like. The second—Director’s—is comprised of four classic varietals, which are grown in diverse vineyards across the entire expanse of Sonoma County.

By blending the fruit from a variety of geographic climates, we’re able to create wines that offer lush, ripe fruit flavors, a light silky texture, and soft, supple tannins. Director’s wines demonstrate Sonoma County’s unique character and style.

Vintage

2011 experienced a long growing season because of chilly spring temperatures and heavy rains that delayed bud break. These conditions lightened our crop significantly, but having fewer clusters of fruit on each vine coupled with the extra hang-time that was needed to fully ripen the grapes resulted in intensely fragrant fruit with concentrated and pronounced flavors.

Winemaker's Notes

Because Sonoma County possesses so many different microclimates and terroir variations, the virtue of our Director’s wines lies in the blending process. Our Cabernet Sauvignon is made from several clonal selections grown in multiple vineyards that have distinctly different soil compositions, elevations and climates. We also added small quantities of Cabernet Franc and Petite Sirah to add further complexity of flavor.