Hook & Ladder Merlot & Cabernet Sauvignon

/bottle + /bottle shipping /bottle + /bottle shipping Tasting notes & discussion 8

Typically $40 - $42/bottle from Hook & Ladder
Vintage 2021 from Chalk Hill (Russian River Valley)
Available for AZ; CA; CO; CT; DC; FL; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MT; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY
Sold by participating winery or licensee, fulfilled by Wine Country Connect

About Hook & Ladder Vineyards and Winery: “Founded in 2003 by pioneering growers and vintners Cecil and Christine De Loach, and helmed today by their grandson, winemaker Jason De Loach, Hook & Ladder showcases the diversity of the appellation the family helped to define, in a portfolio of limited-production bottling’s from their Russian River Valley estate vineyards. The name Hook & Ladder pays homage to Cecil De Loach’s 17- year career as a San Francisco firefighter.”

By Hook & By Ladder

TASTING NOTES:
Cabernet Sauvignon - “Deep garnet color with aromas of vanilla, black cherry, sage and a hint of licorice. This Cabernet Sauvignon displays flavors of dark berry jam, baking spices, cardamom finishing with silky tannins and powdered cocoa.” (AbV 14.5%, pH 3.45, TA 0.66 g/100mL)

Merlot - “This single vineyard Merlot displays a deep garnet color. Aromas of ripe strawberries and Rabbiteye blueberries give way to caramel and cedar. Chocolate, cola and spice make this finish smooth and memorable.” (AbV 14.5%, pH 3.50, TA 0.62 g/100mL)

VARIETALS: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, 100% Merlot.

BARRELS: 20 months in French and American oak, 30% new.

PAIRS WITH: N/A

THAT REMINDS ME OF: “By hook or by crook.”

Sometimes it has appeared as “by hook and by crook,” which feels more in line with the modern meaning of “by any means necessary.” Originally, it was something more like “by fair means and not so fair means,” back in the Middle Ages. The earliest written appearance of the phrase is by John Wycliffe, an early English Catholic dissident and philosopher in the 1300’s. Given his background, perhaps it refers to the shepherd’s crook versus the fisherman’s hook? The crook could be seen as the gentler approach to a hook which pierces and drags.

Others have theorized it referred to the collection of wood from common land around the time, where citizens were not allowed to cut down the trees, but could take whatever they could reach by billhook or shepherds crook.

Hook & Ladder Merlot & Cabernet Sauvignon

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