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Miles Garrett Cabernet Sauvignon
Miles Garrett Cabernet Sauvignon
Grapes — 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Region — Willow Creek AVA, Humboldt County, California
Tasting Notes — Bright, ultraviolet ruby. Crunchy red currant, blackberry, and mulberry on the nose, threaded with juniper, sage, and resin, aromas that make immediate sense once you know this fruit grows in the mountains of Humboldt County. The palate is lively and structured rather than fruit-forward, with real tannic grip and a streak of cold-climate acidity holding everything in balance. Earthy, savory, and genuinely refreshing. Cabernet with none of the weight or sweetness the grape usually carries in California.
The Wine — 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from Peach Tree Lane Vineyard, the Garrett family's 60 acre property in the Trinity River Valley. The vineyard sits on a south to southwest facing hillside at 900 feet, planted on an ancient river shoulder. Willow Creek is wild, mountainous, sparsely populated country up against California's Cascade range, and growing grapes there is a genuinely risky proposition that only a handful of pioneering farmers have attempted.
The payoff is the microclimate. Warm inland air during the day, cool ocean breezes at night, and a long growing season give slow, complete ripening while holding onto crisp acidity, which is exactly what Cabernet needs and rarely gets in this state. The fruit is picked earlier than most California Cabernet to preserve that acidity and keep the varietal's savory, faintly pyrazinic character intact.
Farming — CCOF certified organic since the vines were planted in 2000, and dry farmed with no irrigation at all. The vines are own-rooted rather than grafted, which is unusual and increasingly rare. Farm animals graze the vineyard at points in the season to manage growth, and cover crops go in over winter to keep the soil fed. The family also grows olives on the property.
Winemaking — Hand picked, fermented with naturally occurring yeasts. Aged in French oak barrels and stainless steel. No fining, no filtration, and no sulfur or additives at any point in the process.
The Producer — Miles Garrett Wines is a small family operation in Willow Creek, and for most of the year that means Miles, his wife Carla, and a little help from their young daughter. Carla runs the business side, which Miles credits for much of the winery's success, despite her not being a particularly fervent wine enthusiast herself. The harvest crew is led by Johanne Rapine, a Frenchwoman who has been with the winery every single vintage since it started.
Miles is unusually forthcoming about how he treats the people who work for him, and it's worth repeating. Crew are paid between $15 and $25 an hour. The winery hosts WWOOF work-trade volunteers in wooden yurts, with hot showers, wifi, loaner bicycles and a car, and meals provided, in exchange for four hours of work a day. WWOOFers routinely tell him it's the best placement they've had. In an industry that runs on underpaid seasonal labor, that transparency is worth as much as anything in the bottle.
The wines themselves are unmistakably of their place: juniper, sage, and resin running through everything, which makes a certain sense given what else grows in Humboldt County, and a cold-climate acidity that ties the whole range together.
Drink It With — Grilled steak, venison, lamb with rosemary, mushroom-heavy braises, aged hard cheeses, or a fire on a cold night.
Miles Garrett Cabernet Sauvignon
Grapes — 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Region — Willow Creek AVA, Humboldt County, California
Tasting Notes — Bright, ultraviolet ruby. Crunchy red currant, blackberry, and mulberry on the nose, threaded with juniper, sage, and resin, aromas that make immediate sense once you know this fruit grows in the mountains of Humboldt County. The palate is lively and structured rather than fruit-forward, with real tannic grip and a streak of cold-climate acidity holding everything in balance. Earthy, savory, and genuinely refreshing. Cabernet with none of the weight or sweetness the grape usually carries in California.
The Wine — 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from Peach Tree Lane Vineyard, the Garrett family's 60 acre property in the Trinity River Valley. The vineyard sits on a south to southwest facing hillside at 900 feet, planted on an ancient river shoulder. Willow Creek is wild, mountainous, sparsely populated country up against California's Cascade range, and growing grapes there is a genuinely risky proposition that only a handful of pioneering farmers have attempted.
The payoff is the microclimate. Warm inland air during the day, cool ocean breezes at night, and a long growing season give slow, complete ripening while holding onto crisp acidity, which is exactly what Cabernet needs and rarely gets in this state. The fruit is picked earlier than most California Cabernet to preserve that acidity and keep the varietal's savory, faintly pyrazinic character intact.
Farming — CCOF certified organic since the vines were planted in 2000, and dry farmed with no irrigation at all. The vines are own-rooted rather than grafted, which is unusual and increasingly rare. Farm animals graze the vineyard at points in the season to manage growth, and cover crops go in over winter to keep the soil fed. The family also grows olives on the property.
Winemaking — Hand picked, fermented with naturally occurring yeasts. Aged in French oak barrels and stainless steel. No fining, no filtration, and no sulfur or additives at any point in the process.
The Producer — Miles Garrett Wines is a small family operation in Willow Creek, and for most of the year that means Miles, his wife Carla, and a little help from their young daughter. Carla runs the business side, which Miles credits for much of the winery's success, despite her not being a particularly fervent wine enthusiast herself. The harvest crew is led by Johanne Rapine, a Frenchwoman who has been with the winery every single vintage since it started.
Miles is unusually forthcoming about how he treats the people who work for him, and it's worth repeating. Crew are paid between $15 and $25 an hour. The winery hosts WWOOF work-trade volunteers in wooden yurts, with hot showers, wifi, loaner bicycles and a car, and meals provided, in exchange for four hours of work a day. WWOOFers routinely tell him it's the best placement they've had. In an industry that runs on underpaid seasonal labor, that transparency is worth as much as anything in the bottle.
The wines themselves are unmistakably of their place: juniper, sage, and resin running through everything, which makes a certain sense given what else grows in Humboldt County, and a cold-climate acidity that ties the whole range together.
Drink It With — Grilled steak, venison, lamb with rosemary, mushroom-heavy braises, aged hard cheeses, or a fire on a cold night.