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Wine Details
Price:
$55.00 per bottle
Description:
We have select Cabernet Sauvignon from Andy Beckstoffer's Dr. Crane vineyard in St. Helena to blend with Merlot and Cabernet Franc from his Tokalon vineyard in Oakville. Winemaker Craig MacLean hand-crafted this wine to be enjoyed now through the next 5 years.
We have selected Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley's legendary grower, Andy Beckstoffer, and his George III Vineyard, blended with 9% Mer lot and 9% Cabernet Franc from Beckstoffer's Tokalon Vineyard in Oakville. The result is an elegant blend that displays black cherry, hints of tobacco and subtle anise flavors.
Our vineyards on Spring Mountain are impossibly steep and rocky, with a southeastern exposure to ripen the tiny grape clusters. Winemaker Craig MacLean has hand-crafted our Bordeaux-styled Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Flavors of black cherry and cassis are couched in toasty oak.
The grapes sourced from Andy Beckstoffer’s award-winning Melrose vineyard in the Napa Valley create a Sauvignon Blanc that is aromatic showing notes of melon, citrus and fig. Winemaker Craig MacLean has hand-crafted this special limited edition wine.
Flavors of citrus, melon and fig in the palate echo the aromas.
I find the vintage 2000 Juslyn wines to be amazingly complex. Though generally considered a soft drinkable vintage, these wines display a good degree of depth and length. The Napa Valley Blend should be enjoyed in the nearer term, now and through the next 5 years. The vineyard select and estate, are very approachable in their youth now, but show the potential to improve for 8-10 years.
From vineyards in the Mayacamas Mountains (the mountain range defining the west side of Napa Valley) above Yountville and the Beckstoffer Vineyard near Rutherford, this edition of our Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon marries nuances of red cherry, cassis, and vanilla with black cherry, sage, cocoa, and toast. More medium bodied than the two above, this wine has a velv
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Varietal Definition
Cabernet Franc:
Cabernet Franc is an accessible, spicy, herbal, dark blue grape variety that is often compared to Cabernet Sauvignon. Cabernet Franc tends to be softer and has less tannin than Cabernet Sauvignon, although the two can be difficult to distinguish. Sometimes the French refer to Cabernets, which could mean either of the two grapes. Its typical aromas include an herbaceous and pronounced peppery nose, even in ripe fruit, and something eerily like tobacco. The Cabernet Franc ripens at an earlier stage, which gives it reason to exist in the Bordeaux area. In the Loire, where we find it a lot, it gives a clear red fresh and fruity wine.
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Cabernet Sauvignon:
Cabernet Sauvignon is the most widely planted and significant among the five dominant varieties in France’s Bordeaux region, as well as the most successful red wine produced in California. Though it was thought to be an ancient variety, recent genetic studies at U.C. Davis have determined that Cabernet Sauvignon is actually the hybrid offspring of Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Franc. Cabernet Sauvignon berries are small with black, thick and very tough skin. This toughness makes the grapes fairly resistant to disease and spoilage and able to withstand some autumn rains with little or no damage. It is a mid to late season ripener. These growth characteristics, along with its flavor appeal have made Cabernet Sauvignon one of the most popular red wine varieties worldwide.
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Merlot:
Merlot is known as a Noble Bordeaux varietal. Although it came to France in the first century, it was not named until the 1880s. Merlot was originally used only for blending, as it is soft and compliant, very useful in softening other Bordeaux wines like Cabernets. Recently in California and Chile it became popular as a 100% varietal wine. Merlot tends to be easier to grow in a variety of soil conditions and is harvested earlier in the year than Cabernet. Although most Merlots are made to be drunk earlier, there are many with complexities of a Cabernet. Flavors of plum, black cherry, violet, chocolate and orange pair well with rich, red pasta dishes, hearty chicken dishes, and any beef combination that you fancy. The perfect match of course is chocolate. Not only does the chocolate compliment the wine and vice-versa, but the essence of both flavors linger eternally.
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Petit Verdot:
Petite Verdot is one of the five noble Bordeaux varietals, essentially acting as the nuts and bolts in most Bordeaux blends. With intense color and racy flavors, this wine possesses elements of pencil shavings, dark fruit presentation and a subtle complexity, which can be appreciated by even the most discerning palate.
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Sauvignon Blanc:
Sauvignon Blanc is widely grown in California — at over 15,000 acres, it’s now the third most planted variety — and often assumes the moniker ‘Fume Blanc’. This popular synonym, credited to Napa’s Robert Mondavi, derives from the grape’s historic home of Pouilly in France’s Upper Loire Valley, where Sauvignon Blanc is the dominant varietal and goes locally by the name of ‘Blanc Fumé’. When treated with respect and afforded suitable growing conditions, Sauvignon Blanc is one of the wine world’s darlings. Steely, racy acidity, green, gooseberry fruit, asparagus and a grassy, herbaceous character characterize dry wines made from this grape.
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