Great Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon: Napa Valley

Setting the pace for new styles

Posted: May 15, 2007

Cabernet Sauvignon grows in many regions of California, but the grape reaches its zenith of quality and character in Napa Valley.

Cabernet was introduced to California in the 1830s, first planted in the Los Angeles area by a Bordeaux native named Jean-Louis Vignes. By the 1880s, Cabernet-based wines from Inglenook winery in the Napa Valley were winning medals in international competitions. After Prohibition had nearly destroyed the U.S. wine industry, Cabernet made a comeback in the 1930s and '40s thanks to Inglenook, then owned by John Daniel Jr., and Beaulieu Vineyard, also in Napa, guided by winemaker André Tchelistcheff. The past 30 years have seen Napa Cabernet's most dramatic evolution. Hundreds of new producers have entered the fray; Cabernet now dominates the valley's vineyards; new styles have emerged as vintners have explored the differences among terroirs in vineyards on the valley floor, benchlands and mountains. The emergence in the 1990s of the "cult Cabernets"—small-production wines from specific sites that have garnered astronomical prices—testifies to the starring role Cabernet now plays in Napa Valley.

Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley above all has rich, concentrated, pure fruit flavors. Currant, blackberry, black cherry and plum notes are common, along with accents of flowers, herbs (cedar, sage), mineral, tobacco and often loamy earth tones from the alluvial soils on the valley floor. Aging in new oak barrels lends chocolate, mocha and spice nuances (vanilla, sandalwood, anise) to the wines.

Texturally, these full-bodied reds range from supple and velvety to firmly tannic and even tough-edged when young. They are intense and generally higher in alcohol than their Bordeaux counterparts. And while Napa's Cabernets are more accessible in their youth than classically styled Bordeaux, top examples have shown an ability to age for decades.

Running roughly 30 miles from San Pablo Bay in the south to Mount St. Helena, north of Calistoga, Napa Valley is hemmed in by the Mayacamas Mountains to the west and Vaca Mountains to the east.

Growing conditions vary according to altitude and distance from the bay. In general, fog in the morning tempers the heat, and the wide diurnal temperature range allows the grapes to ripen without losing too much acidity. Rainfall is moderate and generally occurs during the winter months.

Much of the Carneros American Viticultural Area (AVA), in the southern portion of Napa, is too cool for Cabernet Sauvignon, but the valley gets progressively narrower and warmer from south to north, as the effect of the cooling fog from the Pacific diminishes. Hillside and mountain sites are naturally cooler.

The soils vary from alluvial clays and sand on the valley floor to gravels on the benchlands and volcanic tufa in the mountains. The latter two tend to be low in vigor and well-drained, two criteria essential for growing top-quality Cabernet Sauvignon.

With the exception of the coolest areas, these conditions provide an ideal setting for Cabernet. "The regional attributes of Napa are what makes it special," says Craig Williams, senior vice president and director of winemaking for Joseph Phelps Vineyards, founded in 1972. "The Humboldt Current keeps it cool and the delta [diurnal temperature range] gives us very thick skins and very deep colors."

Until the 1980s, Napa grew a hodgepodge of different grape varieties. Limited choice existed for rootstocks and clones; much of the Cabernet available was contaminated with red leaf virus. The vineyard training consisted of "California sprawl," which shaded the fruit. As a result, grapes struggled to ripen. And yet, in excellent vintages, Cabernet proved that it could not only thrive in Napa, but could make great wines.

Then phylloxera struck. The vine louse that had decimated European vineyards in the late 19th century adapted to a rootstock widely planted in California. A decade and a billion dollars spent to eradicate the infestation transformed Napa's vineyard landscape into one dominated by Cabernet.

But this disaster of the 1980s proved to have a silver lining. New plantings not only resisted phylloxera, but also enhanced fruit quality. "After phylloxera, there was a huge opportunity to plant the right rootstocks, the right clones, in the right soils and in the right places," explains Ed Sbragia, winemaster at Beringer Vineyards. "With this replanting, we were in essence creating many smaller vineyards within what had been more homogenous vineyards."

Since then, success with Cabernet Sauvignon has steadily progressed, with waves of new adventurers. While most of the changes have occurred in the vineyards, winemaking has moved toward gentler handling of Cabernet Sauvignon as winemakers seek to tame its abundant tannins. Careful extraction of color and tannins, less movement of the wine during aging and one or two fewer rackings from barrel to barrel avoid aggressive tannins and result in fresher, more balanced Cabernet bottlings.

Maturation in barrel for 18 to 24 months softens the wines enough to make them enjoyable in their youth, while the intensity, tannin structure and balance allow the best to age. This extended barrel-aging also gives the winemaker freedom to eschew fining and filtering, with the wines clarifying naturally over time.

The size and diversity of Napa Valley ensures many different styles of Cabernet Sauvignon.

As vintners have focused in on the differences among sites, the valley has been subdivided into smaller, more homogenous AVAs. There are now 14 AVAs in Napa, ranging in size from 2,700 acres to 15,000 acres. However, the major stylistic differences are among wines grown on the valley floor and those grown above the fog line on hillsides and south in Carneros. Valley vineyards tend to make wines of tremendous richness, with softer tannins and often a loamy, earthy texture woven in with the currant and herb notes; the hillside-grown Cabernets are typically more structured, austere and tannic, with grainier textures.

The importance of choosing the right site cannot be overstated. Paul Hobbs, who makes several different single-vineyard Cabernets from purchased grapes, assesses a vineyard using several criterea. "Soils and exposure are the main factors," he says, adding that he also looks for uniformity of these factors, plus topography, within a given block of vines.

A tasting from barrel of three single-vineyard Cabernets from 2006 with Hobbs illustrated some distinctions. The wine from Hyde Vineyard of Carneros, a cool region with sandy soils, showed its origin with more leafy, tobacco aromas and an elegant profile. The Stagecoach Vineyard bottling, whose site rises 900 to 1,700 feet in elevation just below Atlas Peak, with volcanic soils, offered a beam of black currant and violet flavors, greater ripeness and a firm, dense structure. The '06 from To Kalon Vineyard, on the western bench near Oakville, displayed darker, black fruit flavors, great concentration and fine-grained tannins; it was the most complete wine of the three, perhaps a combination of valley floor richness supported by hillside structure.

Many vintners choose to blend from various Cabernet sources around the valley. By blending, Sbragia at Beringer and Williams at Joseph Phelps, for example, achieve a consistent house style, despite harvesting small vineyard parcels separately and fermenting in individual lots. Other wiinemakers prefer to draw from single vineyards. Either philosophy can result in top-quality wines. In recent years, however, the industry trend has been toward small-production, vineyard-designated bottlings that strive for maximum distinctiveness and depth. This shift culminated in the cult Cabernet explosion of the late 1990s.

Another significant trend has been toward higher alcohol levels in the wines. As winemakers seek greater ripeness in the skins and tannins of the Cabernet fruit, alcohol can easily exceed the 13.5 percent to 14.5 percent level, the traditional ceiling in Old World regions such Bordeaux and Tuscany. To reduce alcohol in wines, California winemakers can add water (illegal in Europe) or may employ technology such as reverse osmosis or spinning cones to remove excess alcohol.

However, despite the technological interventions, some industry veterans believe the damage may already be done in terms of the character of the fruit. Tony Soter, who makes Cabernet under the Etude label and who has consulted for several other Napa wineries, considers these wines simply too high in alcohol.

"Essential to graceful and ageworthy Cabernet that will smell more interesting with time is a whole range of aromatics or aromatic precursors that are 'baked out' of grapes that are grown in too warm a climate or that are allowed to get over the top in so-called ripeness," Soter says.

Many of these turbo-charged Cabernet bottlings have only been in production for a few vintages, and many of them are made from young vines. It remains to be seen how they will age and develop. However, their stylistic forerunners, such as Colgin, Harlan Estate and Screaming Eagle, have largely stood the test of time when tasted 10 years after the vintage date.

The issue of global warming is currently a matter of some concern among California growers and winemakers. Napa's current climate is warm enough to consistently ripen Cabernet Sauvignon and cool enough to develop multifaceted flavors and ripe tannins in the variety. But this ideal balance may be threatened by an overall trend of rising temperatures. It would be a cruel twist of fate if one day a valley devoted to the cultivation of Cabernet became too warm to grow it successfully.

While Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon producers once aspired to emulate Bordeaux, by the end of the 1970s the wines had reached levels of quality and recognition that allowed its vintners to develop their own styles with confidence. Since then, Napa Cabernet has gone from strength to strength, with new vineyards, better farming, a string of fine vintages and new entrepreneurs and winemakers fine-tuning the style.

Today, Napa Cabernet pushes the envelope in terms of ripeness and opulence, offering a concentration of flavors and complexity, power and a textural component (from the abundant tannins) that make it distinctive. Yet the Cabernet Sauvignon hallmarks of finesse, structure and longevity also are there.

Practically every wine list in the United States offers a selection of Napa Cabernets. And prices—both at retail for new releases and at auction for mature wines—have continued to climb; Screaming Eagle, one of the most highly prized of the cult Cabs, has sold at auction for as much as $4,977 for a single bottle.

Yet in sheer volume, the region will never rival Bordeaux. Bordeaux outsells Napa Valley Cabernet-based reds more than two to one at auction in the United States. Only in this respect does Napa Cabernet play second-fiddle to Bordeaux. In terms of quality, expression and a distinctive style of the grape, Cabernet Sauvignon has found a niche in Napa.

RECOMMENDED PRODUCERS AND SELECTED WINES

ARAUJO
The famous Eisele Vineyard in Calistoga anchors this classy, elegantly styled Cabernet.

Wine	Score	Price
Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Eisele Vineyard 2003	91	$215
Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Eisele Vineyard 2002	95	$195

BERINGER
The Beringer name is synonymous with Napa Cabernet, from its regular Napa bottling to its stylish reserve wines.

Wine	Score	Price
Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2002	92	$35
Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Private Reserve 2002	88	$115

CAYMUS
The Special Selection is iconic, but the regular bottling is just as consistent at half the price. Both bottlings are blends of Napa grapes.

Wine	Score	Price
Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2004	92	$70
Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Special Selection 2004	94	$136

ETUDE
Tony Soter makes complex, deep and profound Cabernets. Etude has expanded into an appellation series, too.

Wine	Score	Price
Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2002	94	$90
Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford 2002	92	$100
Cabernet Sauvignon St. Helena 2002	91	$100

HARLAN ESTATE
Located west of Martha's Vineyard, this estate reflects a perfectionist's execution of farming and winemaking. The superopulent style pushes ripeness to the max. Maiden is the second label.

Wine	Score	Price
Napa Valley 2003	90	$265
The Maiden Napa Valley 2002	96	$95

PAUL HOBBS
Hobbs makes several bottlings, and while different in style, they are all ripe, well-oaked and opulent.

Wine	Score	Price
Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2003	90	$75
Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Carneros Hyde Vineyard 2003	93	$100
Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard 2003	92	$235

CLIFF LEDE
This Stags Leap property is the former S. Anderson Vineyard. Lede is off to a great start, making rich Cabs with supple tannins.

Wine	Score	Price
Cabernet Sauvignon Stags Leap District 2003	94	$50

LEWIS
Lewis makes rich, opulent, flashy yet elegant and deeply fruited wines that are also well-oaked.

Wine	Score	Price
Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2004	93	$80
Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Reserve 2003	91	$110
Cuvee L Napa Valley 2002	95	$175

ROBERT MONDAVI
Anchored by estate vineyards in Oakville and Stags Leap, these are complex wines with that essential loamy currant Napa flavor.

Wine	Score	Price
Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2004	88	$27
Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Reserve 2003	87	$125

JOSEPH PHELPS
Phelps makes three Cabs—Insignia, Backus and Napa—and while each is distinctive, Insignia shines as a class Bordeaux-style blend.

Wine	Score	Price
Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2004	88	$54
Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Backus 2002	92	$175
Insignia Napa Valley 2003	90	$150

PRIDE
Despite its source atop Spring Mountain, this is routinely a ripe, supple, polished and concentrated wine with mellow tannins.

Wine	Score	Price
Cabernet Sauvignon Napa-Sonoma Counties 2004	88	$66
Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma-Napa Counties Reserve 2003	92	$120

RUBICON ESTATE
These wines showcase the area's pure loamy currant, herb and spice flavors along with a smooth, polished texture.

Wine	Score	Price
Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford Cask 2002	88	$65
Rubicon Rutherford 2002	88	$110

SHAFER
One Point Five is a new bottling, returning to the winery's Stags Leap home. It's close in style to the elite Hillside Selection.

Wine	Score	Price
Cabernet Sauvignon Stags Leap District Hillside Select 2003	93	$NA/NYR
Cabernet Sauvignon Stags Leap District One Point Five 2004	93	$65

STAGLIN
This Rutherford estate-grown wine exhibits rich, loamy currant and herbal scents and smooth, plush tannins.

Wine	Score	Price
Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford 2003	91	$135
Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford 20th Anniversary 2002	95	$125

TURNBULL
This is an underappreciated producer that shows off Oakville's supple tannins and range of herb, currant and spicy anise notes.

Wine	Score	Price
Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2002	91	$40
Oakville "Black Label" 2003	91	$85

VON STRASSER
These Diamond Mountain-grown wines are intense, and tannic, with a mix of currant, herb, cedar and mineral flavors.

Wine	Score	Price
Cabernet Sauvignon Diamond Mountain District Estate Vineyard 2004	92	$70
Cabernet Sauvignon Diamond Mountain District Rainin Vineyard 2004	92	$70
Sori Bricco Vineyard Diamond Mountain District 2004	91	$70