Tuesday evening, the team at Sokolin enjoyed a bottle of what we predict to be a best seller this Fall season- The 2007 Vineyard 29 Cru. The wine is made at the same property as the high scoring, but also more highly priced:
Vineyard 29 Cabernet Sauvignon - (98 pts Robert Parker in 2007)
Vineyard 29 Cabernet Sauvignon Aida Estate - (97 pts Robert Parker in 2007)
Vineyard 29 Aida Proprietary Red - (95-98 pts Robert Parker in 2007 )
Vineyard 29 is a veritable cult wine of California. Run by proprieter Chuck McMinn and winemaker Philippe Melka, they fashion some of the finest and most exciting cabs in California at their winemaking facility in St Helena. Their most popular bottlings, listed above, are grown at the Aida and 29 Estate vineyards. But for the Cru bottling, they use the juice from six vineyards spread throughout Napa. The wine developed is a complex and richly refined wine at a fraction of the cost of their more expensive bottlings.
All of the wines are made at the same, state of the art facility in St Helena. The technologically sophisticated, gravity flow winery is one of the most advanced wine making facilities in California, and yet the winemakers are strict in maintaining the integrity of the grape. The vines are raised using elevage, with gentle care and attention; they are harvested and sorted by hand, pressed by gravity and aged in caves that provide optimal condition, in terms of temperature and humidity regulation. The entire complex is made to be environmentally friendly, generating it's own electricity to heat and cool the water that regulates the temperature for the caves. It is an impressive site to visit the next time you find yourself in Napa!
Our tasting of the Cru justified everything I've heard- the wine is an extraordinary value and& great quality for such a low price. The glass jumps on the nose with cherries and incense. The palate is smooth and refreshing, with complex elements of spice, oak, graphite and gorgeous red fruit. It was so good, we couldn't believe that we'd be selling this wine for only $44.99 per bottle. This wine won't be around for long, so grab it now! You'll be glad you did.
Here's what Robert Parker says about the 2007 Vineyard 29 Cru
"A combination of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Merlot and Cabernet Franc? notes of graphite, black currants, earth, spice, cedar, and tobacco leaf are present in this deep, medium to full-bodied, opulent, fleshy, pure wine. It should drink well for 10-15 years.
One of Napa's finest Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines in the $50 range is Vineyard 29's 2007 Cru. Produced by owners Chuck and Ann McMinn and their consulting winemaker, Philippe Melka, there are 5,000 cases of this blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Merlot and Cabernet Franc. The grapes are all purchased, and the wine is made at their state-of-the-art facility just off Highway 29 north of St. Helena. This beautiful wine exhibits a dense ruby/purple color as well as pure black currant fruit aromas intermixed with notions of licorice, charcoal, subtle smoke, and high class unsmoked cigar tobacco. It is an elegant, stunningly concentrated, seductive, lush wine that should age nicely for a decade or more."
92 Robert Parker
$44.99 bottle / $539 case