2015 Mockingbird Wines Blue, 1.5ltr

Mockingbird Wines is one of the artisanal, small-batch brands in the wine portfolio of A. Tuck Beckstoffer, a long-time Napa Valley vigneron and part of a Napa viticulture dynasty. Tuck’s father is Andy Beckstoffer, who moved to Napa in the 1960s and started Beckstoffer Vineyards, which over the years has become one of the valley’s most acclaimed sources of high-quality grapes. Mockingbird makes Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from some of the region’s best vineyards, and it is made in very small quantities of fewer than 100 cases annually. Beckstoffer also makes The Seventy Five Wine Co. wines, and wines with the Hogwash, Melee and Semper labels. Each label is dedicated to a particular style of wine.

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.