> New Arrivals

November 28, 2005

2003 St. Helena Winery

"Sauvage" Estate Napa Cab

$54.99 / bottle

Very limited, only 75 cases produced.

Kristian Story is crafting silky, seductive cabernet from Story’s family estate on Pratt Road, across from Beringer. The 2003 Sauvage is blend of 94% Cabernet Sauv. from blocks 1 and 4 (Block 1 is planted from the same budwood as Phelps’ Bacchus Vineyard), 4% Petite Verdot and 2% Petite Syrah. The grapes are hand picked, sorted and hand punched, put into 20 months worth of the top French cooperage, and voila! A complex nose of dark fruits, plums, and chocolate with a hint of vanilla bean flows from the glass. Big, yet balanced and silky, the palate is covered in layers of plums, black currant, and cassis fruit, with loads of mocha and coffee on the long finish. Well integrated and round tannins melt in the mouth, with the acidity balancing out the copious amounts of fruit. Fans of Insignia and Bacchus will find this an attractively priced alternative that is every bit the qualitative equal of those fine wines.