This is our first public vintage offering and only 600 bottles were created.
Library vintages are released in very limited quantities to our mailing list members.
2014 Growing Season Notes:
A gorgeous growing season despite the drought and earthquake. Stable temperatures and humidity all summer long. Not once were any surprises or extremes encountered. Such steady conditions and warm summer nights led to an early harvest. Grapes were hand picked past midnight to optimize acidity profile; the fruit produced was tight and concentrated – Deep color, vivid aromatics and bright fruit character. Aged in new French Oak for 27 months.
Winery Tasting Notes:
Wine color is deep, inky, opaque purple. Distinctive blue fruit aromatics in addition to cedar wood and violets. On the palate, noble tannins are velvety smooth and acidity well balanced. Diverse black fruit flavors prevail with subtle, pleasant minerality followed by a minute long finish.
Note from the proprietor in 2014 with our inaugural release: “When you receive our wines you can’t help but notice how evident our passion and commitment to excellence truly is. The culmination of years of careful planning have finally come to fruition, and we can’t wait for you to enjoy it! Embarking on this venture, we made a promise that if there was any way to create a better quality wine — We would do it. We started by finding the greatest terroir….halfway between the fruit-forward valley floor and the structure-rich mountain vineyards, to give us the optimum profile of ripe fruit and bold, soft tannin. Hand-picked at 4 am for optimum acidity profile and to ensure the fruit was cold when arriving at the winery. Optically sorted to ensure only the most ripe and perfect grapes were used before press. Natural organic fermentation. We used new French Oak barrels and aged the Cabernet until we found perfection (27 months). We had multiple blending ventures, used the best corks and best bottles we could acquire. Literally not one task was performed without careful thought for the best possible outcome. We truly hope you enjoy drinking our wines as much as we enjoyed creating them.”
Professional Tasting Notes:
2014 Frank Fredericks Estate Cabernet Sauvignon | Hats off to @hungry.md for putting this small producer on our radar, because this inaugural vintage of this wine is absolutely a killer. Notes of pencil shavings, tobacco, blackberries, blueberries, black cherries, black currant, oak, savory herbs, and blue florals. Great expression of fruit on the palate, it’s warm and nuanced, and shows incredible finesse. It’s expressive, but restrained, silky smooth and delicate. Lovely acidity clean minerality, and fine grained tannins, this is an extremely polished and structured wine, and one of the best we’ve had this year. Only needs about half an hour of decant, and it truly blooms which is an absolutely plus. Enjoy now over the next 7-8 years. – 98 points – The Wine Guys
“Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon opens with expressive black and red currants notes plus underlying forest floor, black truffles, dried herbs and black olive suggestions. Medium-bodied, it fills the mouth with understated, savory layers, framed by chewy tannins and plenty of freshness, finishing on an earthy note.” – Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Advocate
“The 2014 Frank Fredericks Estate is dark purple in color, the rim is dark ruby reflective. It has dense, dark intensity, is unfiltered, clear and bright. On the nose, it is complex, aromatic and intense, with black fruit notes such as plum and cassis, licorice, rocky minerality, earth, cedar, violets, leather, a touch of balsamic and spices such as black pepper, anise and bitter chocolate with olfactory persistence. On the palate it’s powerful, full bodied, high balance, soft tannins, very complex, high intensity and persistence. This is a wine of limited production with 27 months in French oak. striking in nuances, structure, power and elegance. A young wine with great potential for evolution. Maturity 2020-2030” – Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin, Curitiba
“A solid Napa cab that bridges the old-school style with the traditional. Lots of fruit and tannins, yet it shows tension and focus at the finish. Full body with a currant, berry and fresh-herb character. Start drinking from 2020.” – James Suckling
Gold Medal Winner: 2014 Frank Fredericks Estate
International Best Wine Awards Competition in Paris, France
