The consistently cool and even ripening of the grapes produced an elegant wine with aromas of black fruit and licorice with a touch of black pepper on the finish. Nicely balanced between acid, fruit and tannin, this wine is the perfect partner with roasted beef, cured ham or creamy cheeses.
This Cabernet is packed with rich aromas of black cherry, black licorice and a hint of roasted coffee. Its full body and smooth tannins make it the perfect partner with grilled steak, rack of lamb or roasted duck.
| Review |
| Wine Spectator: Savory herb and ripe currant, berry and plum aromas are firm and intense. Full-bodied and well-structured, with the tannins gaining traction on the finish. Rustic but balanced. Best from 2010 through 2016. 14,520 cases made. -JL |
| Wine maker notes |
| Our Yountville vineyard forms the backbone of our Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, with our Rutherford and Calistoga vineyards rounding out the blend. All vineyards were farmed following organic and Biodynamic principles. This holistic farming practice uses the earth's cycles and natural preparations to grow balanced, healthy vines without artificial fertilizers, pesticides, or fungicides. The result is a full-bodied, elegant Cabernet Sauvignon with pure flavors and a pronounced sense of place.
We ferment the grapes using only yeasts that naturally occur on the grapes and allowed the wine to gain flavors and color from extended skin contact. We aged each lot separately for several months, and then created a blend that is more complex than the individual parts. After blending, the wine spent another year and half in barrel for these different components to completely harmonize before bottling. |
| Technical notes |
Harvest: October, 2005
Fermentation: indigenous yeast; 5 weeks of skin contact
Time in oak: 21 months in French oak
Type of oak: 60% new French oak
Blend: 93% Cabernet Sauvignon; 3% Cabernet Franc; 2% Merlot; 2% Petit Verdot
Alcohol: 14.7% by volume |
| Producer |
| Miljenko “Mike” Grgich first gained international recognition at the celebrated “Paris Tasting” of 1976. Then, in a now-historic blind tasting, a panel of eminent French judges swirled, sniffed, and sipped an array of the fabled white Burgundies of France and a small sampling of upstart Chardonnays from the Napa Valley. When their scores were tallied, the French judges were shocked: they had chosen Mike’s 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay as the finest white wine in the world. Mon Dieu! The results stunned the international wine establishment and immediately earned Mike a reputation as one of the greatest winemakers in the world. |
