PIN·NA·CLE (NOUN)
The highest point; the most successful point; the culmination.
The word “Pinnacle” was a natural choice to name this exquisite Cabernet Sauvignon. The grapes for this special cuvée came exclusively from our hilltop blocks. These hilltop vines are rooted in chalky, calcium-rich soil, resulting in a higher concentration of tannin and color. This distinctive terroir creates grapes of an elevated quality that offer an incredibly refined and layered flavor profile.
Every single aspect of this wine was made with intention — from the way it was planted, to the way it was grown, to creating a packaging that represents the wine inside the bottle.
-Katie Grassini
In addition to the unique soil, these hilltop vineyard blocks are set apart by their high-density planting. Home to nearly three times more vines per acre than any of our other blocks, this high-density planting creates a healthy competition for space. Each vine is naturally limited in the number of grape clusters it can produce, so the vines concentrate all its energy and effort into producing exceptional grapes. Not only are the vines planted to tighter spacing, but they are also planted so that the grape clusters hang much closer to the ground - a mere 6-8” from the cobblestones that dot the soil. This allows the fruit to absorb the heat radiating off these stones, ensuring optimal ripening. The consistency of quality that we see from these blocks year after year has been truly remarkable.
While Bradley will tell you that truly great wines begin in the vineyard, our quest for truly sublime wines continues in the wine cellar. This wine is more ‘dialed in’ than anything else we craft. Over the past ten years in our estate winery, Bradley has been carefully working to determine what winemaking approaches will bring out the unique characteristics of each wine. As each vintage comes into the winery, Bradley already knows which grapes have the most potential to become part of the Pinnacle bottling, as he’s been carefully tasting each block throughout the year.
Unlike our other wines, which generally receive no more than 75% New French Oak barrels, these carefully selected grapes are placed into 100% New French Oak barrels that Bradley has specially selected for this program. Over his decades in the wine industry, Bradley has been able to work with high-end cooperages that are highly sought out the world over. With time, patience and the dedication of a true scientist, he selected the barrels that would impart the softest tannins from the wood, allowing the fruit to truly shine through while imparting structure that will allow this wine to age gracefully for decades to come. The result was our Pinnacle Cabernet Sauvignon.
Every single aspect of this wine was chosen with utmost intention, right down to the smallest detail of the final package. We decided on a minimalist rendering of our Grassini label to distinguish this wine from the others in our portfolio and so that the wine inside the bottle becomes the true focus. However, we also wanted to place the wine in a vessel that helps tell the story of what a significant wine this is. To that end, we selected high quality glass bottles that have a heft and a weight that is impossible to ignore, much like the wine inside.
With a wine this special, and of such an incredibly limited amount, we couldn't take any chances with the corks. We’ve worked with our cork supplier to procure a cork of the highest quality specifically for our Pinnacle wine. These top-quality corks have gone through extra testing and sanitation processes to ensure that the risk of cork taint to the wine is virtually nil.
Finally, we’ve wrapped these wines in tissue paper and placed them in special wooden boxes that were specifically designed for this bottle. The design took years to perfect, and we think the intention behind this package will shine through in your cellar for years to come.