2011 Fait Main Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

Fait Main means “handmade’ in French. And that is appropriate since Fait Main wines are made by Benoit Touquette, a French winemaker who has made his mark in Napa Valley as winemaker for Hartwell Estate Vineyards, Realm and Jack Quinn, among others. Touquette earned advanced degrees in enology and chemistry at the University of Bordeaux before working at estates in Bordeaux and South Africa. Early in his career he made wine for legendary French wine consultant Michel Rolland. He is one of Napa’s rising young stars. His Fait Main Cabernet Sauvignons are usually available only through a mailing list.

Las Piedras was first planted in the mid-19th century, and within a few years its grapes were being used to make wine by Henry Amstutz, one of the area’s first important winemakers. The 25-acre vineyard in St. Helena was acquired by Beckstoffer in 1983. Today it is planted to Cabernet Sauvignon. Beckstoffer Vineyards owns and farms more than 3,600 acres of highly prestigious grape growing vineyards in Napa Valley, Mendocino County and the Red Hills of Lake County. A senior executive with Heublein in the 1960s, Andy Beckstoffer is credited with steering Napa Valley vintners towards improving farming and the quality of the grapes used for wine. Grapes from any Beckstoffer vineyards are considered among the finest available in California.

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.