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Appellation: |
Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District |
Vineyards: |
La Perla, Alba, Miravalle |
Varietals: |
Cabernet Sauvignon 74%, Merlot 26% |
Aged: |
22 Months in New French Oak Barrels |
Production: |
2,700 Six-Pack Cases |
Rating: |
90 Points, Wine Spectator |
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Winemaker Notes |
| In 1999, our La Perla vineyard once again supplied the
heart of the blend, with its fruit’s characteristic
dark color and supple tannins. A higher than usual
amount of Merlot from our Alba vineyard brought an additional
soft, rich fruit component to the blend that compliments
the dark, tannic fruit from Miravalle.
The 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate continues our progress
towards realizing the incredible potential of the Spring
Mountain estate. The youthful, opaque, dark red/ruby hue
of this wine precedes a captivating nose of blackberries,
black cherries, plums and hints of mint and chocolate.
Similar, even more concentrated flavors are found on the
palate of this rich, full-bodied wine. The concentrated,
long, graceful finish indicates exceptional aging potential. |
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The 1999 Vintage |
| Beautiful spring weather and bud break in early March
preceded a cooler than normal summer. Vine fertility was
lower than 1998, and despite the smaller crop levels, most
vineyards were slow to ripen due to the cool weather. Glorious
fall weather pushed the grapes to perfect ripeness, resulting
in a mid- to late October harvest of grapes that had an
ideal combination of intense fruit and balancing acidity. |
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Spring Mountain Estate |
| Grapes from each of the four vineyard properties are considered
as we select the lots to be used in our Estate Cabernet
Sauvignon. The multitude of top quality lots with
distinctly different attributes allows us to be extremely
selective in making the final blend. The result is
a true Estate Cabernet Sauvignon that reflects the unique
growing conditions of the Spring Mountain growing district. |
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Spring Mountain Vineyard |
| Originally four individual historic Napa Valley properties, Miravalle, La Perla, Alba, and Chevalier have now been combined to create an 850 acre estate of forest and vineyard on the eastern slopes of Spring Mountain overlooking the small town of Saint Helena. Over 225 acres of the estate are planted to vine, creating 135 separate hillside vineyard blocks each with its own unique soil, exposure, and microclimate. The vineyard is planted in densities of 4,000 vines per acre and trained to the ancient gobelet form, a vertical trellising method that was invented in an earlier millennium by the Romans. |
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