2006 Beau Vigne Juliet Cabernet Sauvignon

Beau Vigne in Napa Valley was founded in 2002 by Ed and Trish Snider. Their Stags Ridge Vineyard is in the Atlas Peak appellation and includes nine acres planted mostly to Cabernet Sauvignon, with small amounts of Cabernet Franc and Petite Verdot. Beau Vigne also sources grapes from nearby, select vineyards. Ed Snider descends from a family of Swiss and Italian winemakers who made wine in Napa Valley in the early 20th century. Beau Vigne is known for its Cabernet Sauvignons, but also produces Merlot, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Robert M. Parker Jr. has called Beau Vigne “one of my favorite unheralded producers in Napa Valley. The wines have off-the-charts richness, great balance, and the potential to be aged for 20 or more years. There is a striking purity and intensity to these wines that merits attention.”

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.