Incubo

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This is a real blockbuster Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon that combines wonderful fruit notes of black currant, blackberry, cigar box and black cherry, toffee and cocoa. The wine has a distinct purity with deftly textured tannins formed from the ancient sandstone soils. The layers here are intense and stay with you for ages as the finish flickers from blackberry to violets to orange blossom, lingering for what seems like an eternity. There is a very small percentage of Cabernet Franc that lifts the mid palate and brightens the complex aromatics with blue fruits and cedar cigar box.

Incubo began as a tiny, 12 case cuvee that Aaron made from the 1/2 acre vineyard that was already planted on our property when we bought it in 2004.  Over time we expanded the vineyards to almost 5 acres, and Incubo grew to around 80 cases.  The name derives from a mythical creature supposed to guard a hoarde of treasure.  The dragon symbol is in fact the signature of a medieval painter named Lucas Cranach, who often depicted wine and merry-making in his work.  We visited a gallery full of his paintings while we were in Germany in 2004 for the World Cup, which is where we got the inspiration.

Mt. Veeder has been getting a lot of well-deserved press recently.  It’s a dormant volcano and its landscapes can be downright weird:  tension of tectonic shift in the plunging canyons;  soils of ancient sea-floor shale and sandstone pushed above 1500 feet.

As you would expect from Pott, we respect and nurture the weirdness. We allow a permanent cover crop between our vine rows which supports the microbial world in the soil, and all the attendant birds and beasties above.  We have nesting boxes for owls, bluebirds and bats, and they in turn control insects and other predators.  We are 100% organically farmed, and even brew our own “compost teas” for when the vines need a refreshing boost of nutrients.

When it comes time to harvest we pick by hand in to small baskets to avoid premature crushing.  We harvest multiple times because different parts of the vineyard ripen at different times.  Once at the winery we use age-old artisanal techniques and indigenous yeasts develop pure, un-adulterated expressions of our site and its beauty.

2019 Incubo

AVA: Mount Veeder
Vineyard: Estate Vineyard

"Bursting at the seams with Mt. Veeder character. Inky dark fruit, gravel, charcoal embers, grilled herbs and blackberry jam infuse the 2019 with remarkable richness.  The interplay of structural intensity and mid-palate sweetness makes for a baby Cabernet that is absolutely thrilling."  A. Galloni

 

2018 Incubo

AVA: Mount Veeder
Vineyard: Estate Vineyard

Mt. Veeder is the region in Napa Valley that makes my type of wines; restrained power, elegance, mad complexity and age-ability

 

2017 Incubo

AVA: Mount Veeder
Vineyard: Estate Vineyard

98% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Cabernet Franc.  Sorted three times, and fermented in a combination of wood and terra cotta vats.  Punched down by hand every 4 hours - many, many all-nighters! Aged 20 months in select French oak. Aromas of plum, black currant, violets, cherry, tobacco, cedar, mint, fennel, black truffle, nutmeg. Rich attack of beef bouillon, cherry, sweet plum, with toffee, dark chocolate, toasted almond. Finishing with plum, wild cherry, toffee and dark cocoa powder.  Tannins are present, fine grain and age-worthy with beautiful length and focus..  157 cases

 

2016 Incubo

AVA: Mount Veeder
Vineyard: Estate Vineyard

98% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Cabernet Franc.  Sorted three times, and fermented in a combination of wood and terra cotta vats.  Punched down by hand every 4 hours - many, many all-nighters! Aged 20 months in select French oak. Plum, tobacco, blackberry in a massive attack, with plum, cherry, tobacco, dark chocolate and candied violets in a very dense mid-palate, finishes with beautiful texture and present but fine grained tannins in a long finish of blackberry, black currant, toffee and cherry.  54 cases.

 

2015 Incubo

AVA: Mount Veeder
Vineyard: Estate Vineyard

Mt. Veeder is the region in Napa Valley that makes my type of wines; restrained power, elegance, mad complexity and age-ability

 

2014 Incubo

AVA: Mount Veeder
Vineyard: Estate Vineyard

Mt. Veeder is the region in Napa Valley that makes my type of wines; restrained power, elegance, mad complexity and age-ability

 

2013 Incubo

AVA: Mount Veeder
Vineyard: Estate Vineyard

Mt. Veeder is the region in Napa Valley that makes my type of wines; restrained power, elegance, mad complexity and age-ability

 

2012 Incubo

AVA: Mount Veeder
Vineyard: Estate Vineyard

Mt. Veeder is the region in Napa Valley that makes my type of wines; restrained power, elegance, mad complexity and age-ability

 

2011 Incubo

AVA: Mount Veeder
Vineyard: Estate Vineyard

Mt. Veeder is the region in Napa Valley that makes my type of wines; restrained power, elegance, mad complexity and age-ability

 

2010 Incubo

AVA: Mount Veeder
Vineyard: Estate Vineyard

Mt. Veeder is the region in Napa Valley that makes my type of wines; restrained power, elegance, mad complexity and age-ability

 

2009 Incubo

AVA: Mount Veeder
Vineyard: Estate Vineyard

Mt. Veeder is the region in Napa Valley that makes my type of wines; restrained power, elegance, mad complexity and age-ability

 
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