Cabernet Sauvignon Ontiveros, Cañada de los Pinos - 2016

In 1781 Josef Ontiveros rode from Mexico to Alta, California, to stay. Josef would become the first of nine generations of California ranchers and farmers. Today, James Ontiveros is still farming the same valley that generations of his family have called home. James believes “Our wines tell a real story about the durability of truth, the people, and the earth itself. Through the struggle of a cold, windswept coastal desert, our vines reach for water and nutrients in the depleted earth. Our goal at Rancheros de Ontiveros is to make wine as complex as the story of how they came to be.” From an excellent year for the region, the 2016 Cañada de los Pinos is showing beautifully now. Gorgeous black cherry, layered with a full spectrum of milk to bittersweet chocolate notes, garrigue, spice and perfectly integrated toasty oak. Simply sublime.