2023 Snowden Vineyards "The Ranch" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, California, USA

ABOUT THIS WINE

The 2023 “The Ranch” is an estate Cabernet Sauvignon built from two ends of the Snowden property: Cabernet Sauvignon from the Pool Block, the westernmost vineyard, and the Lost Orchard at the eastern end, with a touch of Merlot from the Lost Vineyard between them. The 2023 season was unusually long, cool, and even, allowing gradual ripening and generous hang time. Fermentation took place with wild native yeasts and minimal additions or manipulation; the wine was fermented dry, without chaptalization, added acid, digestive enzymes, or fining. It then spent 19 months in French oak barrels, 30% new. Winemaker Diana Snowden Seysses describes black currant, plum, tobacco, dark cherry, and cedar, with fine, seamless tannins. The result is a classically styled Napa Cabernet centered on balance and the character of the Snowden ranch.

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

Snowden Vineyards is a family-run estate on the eastern slope of Napa Valley between St. Helena and Rutherford. Wine grapes have grown on the 160-acre property since Levi and Lucretia Davis homesteaded it in 1878, and the Snowden family has farmed the ranch since 1955. Today only 23 acres are planted to vines, while roughly 137 acres remain natural woodland. The estate vineyards are certified organic, reflecting the family’s focus on soil and ecosystem health. Third-generation family member Diana Snowden Seysses has been the winemaker since the 2005 harvest. A UC Davis Viticulture and Enology graduate, she has worked in both California and France and has served as an oenologist at Domaine Dujac in Burgundy since 2003. At Snowden, her approach is deliberately restrained: careful farming, native-yeast fermentations, moderate ripeness, and minimal manipulation are used to keep the character of the hillside vineyards and each vintage at the center of the wines.