2015 Sinegal Estate Cabernet Franc

Sinegal Estate was founded by David Sinegal, who in 2013 purchased the historic Inglewood estate in St. Helena. Sinegal, a former retail executive at Costco, Starbucks and other companies, updated the 30- acre, 19th century estate and brought in respected Napa winemaker Tony Biagi. Veteran viticulturalist Jim Barbour was hired as vineyard manager. The first commercial releases were 2013 Cabernet Sauvignons. The Inglewood estate, not to be confused with Inglenook Estate in Rutherford, was planted with vineyards in 1881. Sinegal and his team refurbished the vineyards, which are at various elevations from the valley floor up to the lower levels of the Mayacamas Mountains. Like a growing number of other new, artisanal Napa wineries producing just a few luxury wines, Sinegal Estate’s wines are available generally by mailing list only. The estate’s Cabernet Sauvignons and Cabernet Francs have impressed reviewers in their debut vintages. Robert M. Parker rated them in the mid to high-90s and noted that “These are all super-impressive wines, so consumers should get on the Sinegal bandwagon before it becomes better known.”

St. Helena AVA is at the northern end of Napa Valley just north of Rutherford and south of Calistoga. It is a relatively warm climate thanks to the Mayacamas Mountains on its western edge, which protect it from Pacific Ocean fog. Out of the 9,000 acres in the appellation, some 1,500 are under vine. The principal grapes grown in St. Helena are the Bordeaux grapes of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. St. Helena is considered prime wine producing territory, and it was one of the first important wine producing regions in northern California. The legendary Charles Krug founded his winery just north of the town of St. Helena in 1873, and today the appellation is home to many prestigious producers, including Abreu, Grace Family and Spottswoode.

This is a parent grape to Cabernet Sauvignon. It most likely originates from Basque country. It is an excellent blending grape, known for making the exquisite Cheval-Blanc. Franc is a little hardier on a vine than Sauvignon, but drinks smoothly at the table.