Hunt McKay Morisoli Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2011
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From a highly sought-after source of Cabernet, this is classically oaky and dusty, a sophisticated take on the grape, dense and soft in waves of black cherry. With medium weight that picks up steam on the milk-chocolate finish, it’s an impressive sipper or worthy companion to steak and potatoes.
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It takes almost four years to develop a Napa Valley Cabernet from grapes in the vineyard to wine ready to sell. After finding the right vineyard for the grapes, in addition to numerous lunches, dinners and cups of coffee, they worked together on both the actual making of the wine and the operational fundamentals that go into running a business: Of primary importance is managing the growing customer list. They spend hours designing, choosing and ordering all the packaging elements for each vintage. They walk the vineyards, harvest the grapes, purchase and check all the barrels. In the background they update and renew all the required permits and licenses, maintain the website and pack and ship orders. The milestones of accomplishment and progress are compelling. Hunt McKay continues to be a labor of passion fueled by friendship, lots of hard work and ultimately a product that they are all so proud to be able to share with you.
They launched the brand as KaDieM, the phonetic spelling of their initials pronounced KDM. The logo, three wine glasses entwined, is a symbol of their friendship, the celebration of their families and a toast to their passionate endeavor to create remarkable wines from the Napa Valley.
After two highly rated and sold out vintages, they gained some unwanted attention from a very large, low end wine producer on the East Coast threatened by their success. With the foundation of their partnership focused on friendship, family and brilliant winemaking, the choice to change our brand KaDieM or face years fighting of litigation and expense was an easy one for us to make.
With the 2011 vintage, they are so excited to launch Hunt McKay, the combination of Karen and Danna's last names, Hunt McKay is the same great wine, made by their partner and winemaker Michael Trujillo from the same Morisoli Vineyard Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon grapes under the exact standards upon which KaDieM Cellars was founded. You'll find the label, 3 entwined wine glasses and of course the wine to be exactly what you experienced under the 2009 and 2010 KaDieM label.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
The Rutherford sub-region of Napa Valley centers on the town of Rutherford and covers some of Napa Valley’s finest vineyard real estate, spanning from the Mayacamas in the west, to the Vaca Mountains on the other side of the valley.
Inside of the Rutherford AVA, bordering the Mayacamas, is a stretch of uplands called the Rutherford Bench. (These bench lands technically run the length of Oakville as well). Mountain runoff creates deep, well-drained, alluvial soils on the bench, giving vine roots plenty of reason to permeate deep into the ground. The result is wine with great structure and complexity.
Rutherford Cabernet Sauvingons and Bordeaux Blends garner substantial attention for their enticing fragrances of dusty earth and dried herbs, broad and juicy mid-palates and lush and fine-grained tannins. The sub-appellation claims some of the valley’s most prized vineyards today, namely Caymus, Rubicon and Beckstoffer Georges III.
It is also home to Napa’s most influential and historic personalities. Thomas Rutherford, responsible for the appellation's name, made serious investments here in grape growing and wine production between the years of 1850 to 1880. Gustave Niebaum purchased a large swath of land and completed his winery in 1887, calling it “Inglenook.” Today this remains the oldest bonded winery in California. Georges Latour founded Beaulieu Vineyard in 1900, making it the oldest continuous winery in the state. Latour also hired the famous enologist, André Tchelistcheff, a man credited for single-handedly defining the modern Napa winemaking style.