The Setting Cabernet Sauvignon Rockpile Ridge Vineyard Rockpile Sonoma County 2019

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The Setting has already ascended to an echelon of the top wineries in Sonoma and expect these wines to only increase in price and popularity over the next several years. Jesse Katz continues his meteoric rise to become one of the top California winemakers today, and this 96 point cabernet sauvignon from the volcanic, high elevation soils of Rockpile is not to be missed!

The Setting is a relatively new project between three friends based in Sonoma County. One of those friends happens to be Jesse Katz – one of California’s (and beyond) truly up-and-coming winemakers. He’s built a global resume that would rival some of the best, with stints at Château Petrus, Château Haut Brion, Viña Cobos, Screaming Eagle, and more. He’s cracked the 100 point barrier more than once, and his precision and exacting standards have made him one of the fastest-rising rockstar winemakers we have ever seen.

This Rockpile Ridge cabernet sauvignon hails from a site northwest of Dry Creek Valley– high up at some 1,200 feet above sea level, and only about 7 miles from the Pacific Ocean. The warm dry chaparral here, only a short ways from Lake Sonoma, experiences warm days moderated by cooling influences from the neary Pacific – making for one of the longest growing seasons in Sonoma for cabernet sauvignon. The end result is a deeply structured and brooding wine, with a strong mineral-driven backbone that gives this unending depth, and silky yet unmistakable power. I’d compare it stylistically to Howell Mountain, or Diamond mountain – ripe, structured, and incredibly age-worthy – but with a silky, mineral and floral elegance that allows it to be approached in its youth (with proper care, of course!). For now at least, expect barrel nots of cocoa powder, vanilla, and peppercorns, with a core of blackberries, black plums, kirsch, and gravelly, minerally graphite. The aromatics delight and dazzle with violets and lilacs, and a whisper of blueberries and iron ore. This is a deeply complex and brooding beast that will go toe-to-toe with any of the heavyweights from Napa or Bordeaux – simply at a price that can’t be ignored! We’ve scored this for 45% less than the winery retail – and you can’t find this anywhere for less! 

PAIRING IDEAS: Steak is the obvious answer here, cooked over a cave-man worthy fire. But let’s mix it up! I’m going for huge hunks of lion’s mane mushrooms, cooked in a hot cast iron skillet, and pressed to make a sort of mushroom ribeye steak. Once you have nice deep brown color on both sides, hit it with a big knob of butter and some garlic, thyme, and rosemary. Baste, baste, baste, and then serve with veggie demi-glace and some glazed root vegetables.