An opaque, dark violet core of color gives rise to vibrant aromas of dried black currant, dried blackberry, and sun-dried Herbs de Provence. These powerful flavors wash across the palate along with dark chocolate covered espresso beans and very subtle toasted baking spices, indicating limited exposure to new French oak. Supple tannins frame the palate, while mouth-watering acidity provides a perfect counterbalance, leading to a long finish.
Grown in the volcanic soils of our estate-owned vineyards, Anakota Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon embodies the rustic spirit of rural Sonoma County. Our vineyards climb the southwest-facing slopes of 4,300ft. Mount St. Helena, and are surrounded by a wilderness of cold mountain streams and forests of native fir and oak. The message of our soil, as expressed by the subtle variations of topography and geology, is conveyed in every bottle.
A vintage marked from the outset by excessive winter rainfall, 2019 began with our soils holding abundant moisture and well equipped for the Knights Valley growing season. Cabernet Sauvignon budbreak occurred throughout early to mid April, and the growing season proceeded with above average warmth, with heat spikes throughout July, August, and September. Harvest began in late September, and the resulting wines are concentrated and focused, with ample richness.
About Anakota Winery
Back in the late 1990s, we began exploring new locations to grow Grand Cru-level Cabernet Sauvignon. Our goal was to find a site that could deliver the opulence and concentration of Napa coupled with the acidity, precision and age-worthiness of Sonoma. We found the perfect site in the Knights Valley AVA, a little-known wine region that earned AVA status in 1983. We named our ranch Anakota and in 1997 began surveying the terrain, analyzing the soils and planting vines.
Today, under the direction of Vigneron Pierre Seillan, we produce small quantities of single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignons from our two hillside estate vineyards: Helena Dakota and Helena Montana, as well as a blended Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.
MICRO-CRU PHILOSOPHY
Over his half-century of winemaking, Pierre has developed and refined his proprietary “micro-cru” farming/winemaking principles. Based on experience, observation, experimentation and intuition, this system considers that every vineyard is an intricate patchwork of soils, microclimates, exposures and elevations. Rather than treat each site as a single entity, Pierre divides each property into small blocks and sub-blocks. These vineyards-within-vineyards – often as small as one acre – are designed to mirror the subtle changes in the soils, terrain and microclimates. These micro-crus are farmed individually to ensure uniformly ripe grapes that bear the message of the soil. Each micro-cru is harvested and vinified separately. Two wines vinified from identical clones and rootstocks, but originating in radically different micro-crus, will produce radically different wines.
An opaque, dark violet core of color gives rise to vibrant aromas of dried black currant, dried blackberry, and sun-dried Herbs de Provence. These powerful flavors wash across the palate along with dark chocolate covered espresso beans and very subtle toasted baking spices, indicating limited exposure to new French oak. Supple tannins frame the palate, while mouth-watering acidity provides a perfect counterbalance, leading to a long finish.
Grown in the volcanic soils of our estate-owned vineyards, Anakota Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon embodies the rustic spirit of rural Sonoma County. Our vineyards climb the southwest-facing slopes of 4,300ft. Mount St. Helena, and are surrounded by a wilderness of cold mountain streams and forests of native fir and oak. The message of our soil, as expressed by the subtle variations of topography and geology, is conveyed in every bottle.
A vintage marked from the outset by excessive winter rainfall, 2019 began with our soils holding abundant moisture and well equipped for the Knights Valley growing season. Cabernet Sauvignon budbreak occurred throughout early to mid April, and the growing season proceeded with above average warmth, with heat spikes throughout July, August, and September. Harvest began in late September, and the resulting wines are concentrated and focused, with ample richness.
About Anakota Winery
Back in the late 1990s, we began exploring new locations to grow Grand Cru-level Cabernet Sauvignon. Our goal was to find a site that could deliver the opulence and concentration of Napa coupled with the acidity, precision and age-worthiness of Sonoma. We found the perfect site in the Knights Valley AVA, a little-known wine region that earned AVA status in 1983. We named our ranch Anakota and in 1997 began surveying the terrain, analyzing the soils and planting vines.
Today, under the direction of Vigneron Pierre Seillan, we produce small quantities of single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignons from our two hillside estate vineyards: Helena Dakota and Helena Montana, as well as a blended Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.
MICRO-CRU PHILOSOPHY
Over his half-century of winemaking, Pierre has developed and refined his proprietary “micro-cru” farming/winemaking principles. Based on experience, observation, experimentation and intuition, this system considers that every vineyard is an intricate patchwork of soils, microclimates, exposures and elevations. Rather than treat each site as a single entity, Pierre divides each property into small blocks and sub-blocks. These vineyards-within-vineyards – often as small as one acre – are designed to mirror the subtle changes in the soils, terrain and microclimates. These micro-crus are farmed individually to ensure uniformly ripe grapes that bear the message of the soil. Each micro-cru is harvested and vinified separately. Two wines vinified from identical clones and rootstocks, but originating in radically different micro-crus, will produce radically different wines.
