
2017 Prevail West Face, Alexander Valley
Winemaker Notes
PreVail West Face is a delicious, full-bodied wine with lush aromas and flavors of
blackberry, plums, bacon, dried blueberries, cassis, milk chocolate, vanilla, and cedar
with a touch of leather on the finish. Fleshy and full, this wine has exquisite depth
and lingering, firm tannins providing textural proof of this wine’s age ability
Food Pairing Notes
PreVail West Face pairs well with braised, roasted or barbecued meats such as chicken, red meat, lamb or pork. Pastas, stews or well-aged medium and strong-flavored cheeses, such as Taleggio, also pair nicely
Composition
66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Syrah
Wine Specs
Vintage
2017
Varietal
Red Blends
Appellation
Alexander Valley
Acid
5.2 g/L
pH
3.94
Aging
66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Syrah
Bottling Date
June 2019
Alcohol %
15.4
Production Notes
The grapes are hand harvested, and upon entering the winery, hand sorted and
then gravity fed directly into oak and stainless steel tanks for five days of cold
soaking. Following the cold soak, yeast is added and pump overs commence,
one to two times daily, for the duration of primary fermentation. After
primary fermentation, the wine is drained and pressed to barrels for malolactic
fermentation, then aged in the wine caves for 19 months. This vintage was bottled
unfined and unfiltered in June 2019.
Vineyard Notes
The grapes for this Cabernet Sauvignon/Syrah blend are grown on the steep slopes of
Ferrari-Carano’s LookOut Mountain which sits at the junction of Alexander Valley,
Knights Valley and Chalk Hill Appellations. This mountain vineyard, soaring in
elevation from 500 to 1,400 feet, is comprised of ancient, weathered sandstone and
sandy loam soils bearing low-yielding vines. The 2017 season began with record rainfall amounts during the winter, filling
our reservoirs after four years of drought. Spring was mild, bringing favorable
conditions during bloom, which led to a nicely set crop. We experienced more
than an average number of hot days in early to mid-summer, and then record highs
over Labor Day weekend. Fortunately, the vines were ready to handle the heat with
adequate soil moisture supplied by all the rain.