2016 Paul Hobbs Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

Paul Hobbs is a boutique winery in the Russian River Valley of Sonoma County, California. It was founded in 1991 by Paul Hobbs, who worked at Robert Mondavi, Opus One and Simi Winery in various winemaking capacities before starting his own winery. He also consulted in Argentina, and now makes Malbecs from Argentina with other business partners under the Vina Cobos label. Hobbs uses grapes from numerous vineyards under contract to his estate to make well-reviewed Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. His wines from the several Beckstoffer vineyards and the Hyde vineyard are particularly noteworthy. Robert M. Parker Jr. has called Hobbs “one of the great names in winemaking…(he makes) full-throttle, intense wines made with classical European methods.”

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.