Remarkable Wines Made For You
“Every decision we make in the vineyard and cellar stems from our mission to craft remarkable Napa Valley and Anderson Valley wines, bringing pleasure and comfort to every table that’s host to a good life.”
– Stephanie Jacobs, Winemaker
Our Napa Valley Merlot displays deep aromas of blackberry and black cherry with a background of crushed stone and violet. Concentrated flavors of fresh blackberry and black plum are balanced by fine tannins and fresh acidity. A lingering rich black cherry finish with a note of minerality rounds out this complex and elegant Merlot.
This Merlot comes from our estate vineyards throughout Napa Valley, including our Suscol Springs Ranch in the cooler southeastern reaches. We also include grapes from our warm, nutrient-rich valley floor vineyard in Rutherford. The diversity of these Merlot vineyard sites enables us to craft a wine that highlights the best of the varietal; deep fruit flavors, silky mouthfeel, bright acidity, and refined elegant tannins.
Our Annahala Ranch sits on 60 acres in the southern end of Mendocino County’s Anderson Valley. This former apple orchard, with its closer proximity to the Pacific Ocean compared to its sister vineyard, Apple Barn, spends more time in fog. Vines at our Annahala Ranch are planted in loamy soils and represent a selection of high-quality pinot noir clones, including Dijon 114, 667 and 777, and clone 828. This diversity of clones enhances the wine’s complexity: Dijon clones tend to impart perfume and intense black cherry characters, while clone 828 contributes elegant texture and a hint of dried rose petals.
Blending hints of spice with ripe boysenberry and dark cherry, this wine segues effortlessly to a full-bodied palate that combines firm tannins with complex notes of cocoa, roasted espresso, and baking spices.
Cabernet Franc comes from our Suscol Springs Estate Vineyard which is grown atop rocky, well-draining soils in the cool Southern reaches of Napa Valley. Here, the combination of Pacific fog from the nearby San Pablo Bay and bright sunshine combine to yield grapes that are impeccably balanced offering a combination of ripe fruit notes, robust tannins, and refreshing acidity.
"This grape is often overlooked as a blending grape, but Cab Franc can truly shine on its own, with its bright acidity, blackberry notes, and savory undertones".— Director of Winemaking, Stephanie Jacobs
"Napa Valley is known the world over for fine cabernet sauvignon. Vineyards here are blessed with a great diversity of soils and microclimates and express their distinct personalities through remarkable wines. We blend our Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from special spots throughout the region, including the renowned cab appellations of Rutherford and Oakville, which impart classic Napa Valley bold fruit intensity, as well as the warmer Calistoga area to the north and the cooler southern reaches of the Suscol watershed, which contribute layers of complexity and depth of flavor." - Stephanie Jacobs
This wine reveals a fragrant, complex bouquet of ripe blackberry and boysenberry complemented by notes of dark chocolate and toasty oak. Rich and smooth on the palate, the sumptuous dark fruit is balanced by fresh acidity and lush tannins with a lingering, elegant finish and a hint of minerality.
Our newly introduced Viewfinder series was inspired by Jack’s photography and comprises limited-edition wines. For the first time, Stephanie Jacobs Director of Winemaking crafted a Merlot from our renowned Howell Mountain vineyard for this series.
The fruit from the rugged slopes of Howell Mountain, where vineyards lie high above Napa Valley’s signature fog between 1,100 and 1,900 feet of elevation, is defined by iron-rich, volcanic soils. These soils force the vines to produce small, intense grapes which translate into powerful and intensely concentrated wines.
Deep, dark ruby in color and elegantly balanced with layered aromas of concentrated blackberry, freshly turned earth, and a hint of warm, spicy oak.
Our goal with Dancing Bear is to capture the intense mountain character of fruit from this unique site, perched high above northern Napa Valley on the steep, rugged slopes of Howell Mountain. Small-lot winemaking allows our winemaker to monitor extraction during fermentation so that each lot achieves just the right balance between fruit and tannin. Aging in French oak barrels-predominantly new oak-adds depth to this remarkable wine.
"This big, dramatic wine has become a cult classic among lovers of Howell Mountain cabernet sauvignon, including the bears who call this high-elevation estate home. This wine offers generous aromas of black cherry and fig that carry over onto a concentrated, fleshy palate." — Dennis Cakebread
Boasting deep and luxurious blackberry, boysenberry, blackcurrant and dark cherry fruit, this rich, yet elegant red is framed by supple, polished tannins and culminates in an impressively long finish brimming with seductive blackberry, chocolate and wood spice tones. Thoroughly delicious now, our 2014 Benchland Select will handsomely reward another 7-10 years of bottle age.
TECH SHEET | RECIPE PAIRINGS
2014 was another in a series of excellent vintages in northern California. After a rainy February, which rejuvenated the vines, a warm, dry spring led to early bud-break, flowering and grape set. Summer was consistently mild with few heat spikes, allowing our cabernet sauvignon grapes to ripen slowly and evenly while developing impressively concentrated flavors.
