William Hill Estate : Napa Valley

1996 Napa Valley Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

Grape Source

This Reserve wine is a blend of benchland and mountain-grown Cabernet Sauvignon (97%) and Merlot (3%) from two Napa Valley viticultural regions: our own Silverado Bench estate vineyards and Mount Veeder.  The grapes were harvested between September 1 through October 2, 1996, at an average 23.7º Brix.

Vintage

A wonderfully long, cool growing season, combined with a warm September harvest, provided the perfect environment for Cabernet Sauvignon.  Extended time on the vine ensured both optimum sugar levels and flavors from the grapes.

Winemaking

100% of the wine underwent malolactic fermentation with about 20% of the wine was whole-berry fermented.  All of the wine was aged in a combination of primarily new, one- and two-year-old French oak Seguin Moreau-Margaux barrels for 24 months.

Winemaker notes

Harvested from two distinctively different Napa Valley viticultural areas, this blend exhibits a complex and forward wine with generous oak spice notes.  The vines from our estate on Silverado Bench, with its rolling terrain and rocky soils, produce tiny berries in long, loose clusters that possess intense, full-bodied flavor.  The wine features big, juicy, ripe, forward black cherry and berry flavors.  French oak aging integrates the supple vanilla characteristics that balance well with the jammy, cassis-laden Cabernet Sauvignon fruit.

The 1996 William Hill Estate Napa Valley Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is a big, rich wine to enjoy now or continue to age for the next ten to fifteen years.

Food Recommendations

This fruit-forward wine works best with a succulent roast leg of lamb that has been basted with a thick berry/cherry or reduction sauce with this wine as the base.  Try it with a tenderloin of beef or rib roast that has been lightly salted and slow-cooked on a radiant heat outdoor grill.