Merryvale Saint Helena Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2014
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Robert
Parker -
Jeb
Dunnuck
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon St. Helena Estate is 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Petit Verdot. This also has a saturated purple color as well as a glorious nose of white flowers, graphite, blueberry and blackberry liqueur and a dense, rich, multi-layered mouthfeel with terrific fruit intensity, low acidity and ripe tannin. Drink this beauty now as well as over the next 15 or so years.
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Jeb Dunnuck
My favorite of the 2014 appellation releases, the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon St. Helena Estate (80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Petit Verdot) is a beautiful, medium to full-bodied, balanced 2014 that has copious amounts of blackcurrants, toasted spices, dried earth and lead pencil all emerging from the glass. With fine tannin and a great finish, it’s a terrific Napa Cabernet Sauvignon that can be drunk today or cellared for 10-15 years.
Other Vintages
2016-
James
Suckling -
Jeb
Dunnuck
Merryvale is committed to protecting and preserving the environment through conservation, renewable energy and sustainable farming practices at our three estate vineyards. Merryvale has received Napa Green Vineyard, Napa Green Winery and Bay Area Green Business certifications.
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.
St. Helena is in the heart of the Napa Valley, nestled between Calistoga to the north and Rutherford on its southern border. On its western side, the Mayacamas Mountains guard it from the cooling effects of the Pacific Ocean; to its east stand the Vaca Mountains. In conjunction, these mountain ranges serve to lock in summer daytime heat. But in the evening, cool air from the San Pablo Bay funnels up through the valley, creating very chilly nights. It isn’t uncommon for temperatures to drop 50 degrees, a shift that promotes a balance of sugar ripeness and acidity in wine grapes.
St. Helena contains a plethora of different soil types in a small area, which have been enhanced over centuries by rain runoff from both mountain ranges. Its vineyards cover a variety of terrain, spreading across the bucolic valley floor and its benchlands.
These ideal topographic and climatic growing conditions easily caught the attention of early winemaking pioneers. In fact, St. Helena is the birthplace of Napa Valley’s commercial wine industry. Dr. Crane founded his cellar in 1859, David Fulton in 1860 and Charles Krug in 1861.
Today there are no less than 400 separate vineyards planted within the 12,000 acres that make up the St. Helena appellation.
Revered most for its red wines based on Bordeaux varieties, namely Cabernet Sauvignon, the St. Helena appellation is also a source of superior Syrah, Zinfandel and Sauvignon blanc.