2017 JCB No. 1 Cabernet Sauvignon

JCB Collection is a new winemaking enterprise from Jean-Charles Boisset, a native of Vougeot, Burgundy, now making wine in Northern California. His parents founded Château du Clos Vougeot in Burgundy in 1961, launching themselves into what has become a multi-generational business of winemaking in Burgundy, the South of France, Italy, Napa Valley and the Russian River Valley. In 2003 the family, now headed by Jean-Charles, acquired DeLoach Vineyards in the Russian River Valley, and later acquired also Raymond Vineyards and Buena Vista Winery. More recently Boisset started the JCB Collection of wines to combine the tradition of French winemaking with the heritage of historic terroirs around the world. The collection includes a full portfolio of wines from Cabernet blends to whites, sparkling wines and dessert wines. JCB wines are special cuveés made at the family’s wineries in California and elsewhere. Robert M. Parker Jr. has noted that the JCB wines “demonstrate the visionary as well as creative genius of Jean-Charles Boisset. They represent both his traditional upbringing in Burgundy and his passion and belief in the quality of Northern California fruit.” All JCB wines are made in limited quantities.

Napa Valley AVA is the most famous winemaking region in the United States and one of the most prestigious in the world. With nearly 43,000 acres of vineyards and more than 300 wineries, it is the heart of fine wine production in the United States. Winemaking started in Napa in 1838 when George C. Yount planted grapes and began producing wine commercially. Other winemaking pioneers followed in the late 19th century, including the founders of Charles Krug, Schramsberg, Inglenook and Beaulieu Vineyards. An infestation of phylloxera, an insect that attacks vine roots, and the onset of Prohibition nearly wiped out the nascent Napa wine industry in the early 20th century. But by the late 1950s and early 1960s Robert Mondavi and other visionaries were producing quality wines easily distinguishable from the mass-produced jug wines made in California’s Central Valley. Napa Valley’s AVA was established in 1983, and today there are 16 sub-appellations within the Napa Valley AVA. Many grapes grow well in Napa’s Mediterranean climate, but the region is best known for Cabernet Sauvignon. Chardonnay is also very successfully cultivated, and about 30% of the AVA’s acreage is planted to white grapes, with the majority of those grapes being Chardonnay,

One of the most widely grown grape varieties, it can be found in nearly every wine growing region. A cross between Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc. It’s a hardy vine that produces a full-bodied wine with high tannins and great aging potential.