Nose
The 2014 Salon Privé reveals a bouquet of
purple fruits including marionberry, boysenberry and candied violet
with a great mid-palate density.
Palate
This red blend is very dense and rich
with a cocoa nib character, a toastiness and notes of clove and savory
umami.
Growing Conditions
The grapes for the 2014 Salon Privé are a blend of three vineyards;
Cabernet Sauvignon from west St Helena, Merlot from southern
Napa and Petit Verdot from east St Helena.
The Cabernet Sauvignon is grown on sedimentary transition soil
with a side that ripens with the morning sun and the other with the
evening sun. Due to the nature of the appellation and the heat of the
vintage, the sides were picked about a week apart and we used the
evening side Cabernet Sauvignon in this blend. The Merlot is from a
hillside vineyard in one of the coolest parts of Napa with
southwestern exposure on extremely rocky soils. The combination of
the southwestern and the cool weather gives a great concentration to
the fruit with a lower alcohol. The Petit Verdot is from eastern St
Helena, on mostly gravelly loam soils.
The 2014 vintage in Napa Valley was one of the earliest harvested
vintages in years. A warm spring led to early bud break and created
the perfect environment for flowering and fruit set. With warm days
and cool nights, our team was able to maintain ideal acid levels with
optimum, bright fruit flavors.
Bottling
The Salon Privé was bottled unfined and unfiltered in
January 2017.
Winemaking
The Cabernet Sauvignon grapes were fermented on the skins for 38
days to lend complexity and depth to the wine, while the Merlot and
Petit Verdot were pressed off at dryness to capture the bright fruit
intensity.
Aging
The wine was barrel aged for 24 months in French oak barrels with
58% new Demptos barrels and the balance in once and twice used
barrels.
Appearance
A dark ruby in the glass.
Food Pairing
This is the perfect accompaniment to a rack of lamb or
grilled filet mignon.
