Oakville, Lateral Kathryn Kennedy 2018

Winemaker Notes

Fresh, clean and powerful flavors center on sweet oak and roasted fruit. Bright berry flavors are carried along by pleasant fine tannins very much in balance for early drinking. This vintage is never ponderous but instead ideally structured in a classic European style meant to accompany food.  

About Winery

Inspiration for LATERAL’s blend came from tasting the Premier Crus of Bordeaux labels such as Chateau Chevel Blanc and Chateau Ausone. 

Merlot and Cabernet Franc are the dominant grapes that make St. Emillion wine.  Merlot gives the wine lush textures, richness and concentration with flavors of plums, blackberry, licorice, chocolate and black cherry.  The Cabernet Franc adds aromatic qualities like flowers and spice as well as tannin and structure.

It’s really the interplay of the two grapes that originally caught my interest, they come together to fill each others void and create a harmony that’s has an approachability uncommon among clarets.  A style so friendly and plush in fact, St Emillion has been described as “The Burgundy of Bordeaux”.

The interplay of these two grapes is what gives Lateral a complexity unlike most California blends.