William Hill Estate : Napa Valley

1995 Napa Valley Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

Grape Source

This Reserve wine is a blend of benchland and mountain-grown Cabernet Sauvignon (92%), Merlot (6%), and Petit Verdot (2%), from three Napa Valley viticultural regions: Silverado Bench, Atlas Peak District, and Mount Veeder. The grapes were harvested between early September through late October of 1995, at an average 23.4º Brix.

Vintage

The long, cool summer of 1995 provided the perfect environment for Cabernet Sauvignon. Extended time on the vine, combined with warm temperatures in October, helped develop both optimum sugar levels and flavors from the grapes.

Winemaking

All of the wine was aged in a combination of new, one- and two-year-old French oak Seguin Moreau-Margaux barrels for 24 months. Twenty percent of the blend underwent whole berry fermentation.

Winemaker notes

Harvested from three distinctively different Napa Valley viticultural areas, this blend exhibits a complex and forward wine with generous oak spice notes. The grapes from the Silverado Bench area, with its rolling terrain and rocky soils, deliver fruit in long, loose clusters that possess intense, full-bodied flavor. The wine features big, juicy, ripe, forward blackberry flavors. French oak aging integrates the supple vanilla characteristics that balance well with the jammy, cassis-laden Cabernet Sauvignon fruit.

The 1995 William Hill Estate Napa Valley Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is a big, rich wine to enjoy now, or continue to age for the next five to ten years.

Food Recommendations

This wine will pair perfectly with most meats served with a berry or cherry reduction sauce. Wild mushroom dishes are a great match with the earthy characteristics displayed by the Cabernet Sauvignon.