The 2016 growing season brought fruit of exceptional quality and concentration. We had sufficient rainfall in the winter to help alleviate drier than average conditions in recent years. Temperatures were moderate with some minor heat spikes in June and July. However, a cooling off period in August led to ideal conditions at harvest. The wines from this vintage have great uniformity, concentration and outstanding balance. Consistent with Lancaster Estate’s commitment to making wines of authenticity and place, all of our wines are estate grown, produced and bottled. Native yeasts are used for primary fermentation while secondary malolactic fermentation occurs naturally in barrel. To preserve the truest expression of our estate, the Lancaster Estate 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon was gently fined and then bottled unfiltered. This 2016 was aged 24 months in 100% French oak. We chose barrels from several coopers including Darnajou, Taransaud, Demptos, Ermitage, Saury, Bel Air and Sylvain. 60% of the barrels were new and all were coopered using a combination of Medium, Medium Plus, Medium Long, and Heavy toast levels to provide optimal integration and balance.