Wine Last Sold on: September 24, 2012
Grgich Hills Estate
Featured Wine:
2008 Cabernet Sauvignon
| Varietal: | Cabernet Sauvignon |
| Region: | California: Napa Valley |
| Avg. Price: | $60.00 |
| Wine Spies: | $51.00 |
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Mission Codename: Ultimate Judgement
- Operative
- Agent Red
- Objective
- Revisit our dear friends at Grgich Hills Estate - and acquire the latest vintage of their elegant, expressive, delicious Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.
- Mission Status
- Accomplished!
- Winemaker
- Ivo Jeramaz
Final Assessment
Very Highly Recommended, today’s wine excels in every area. Deeply aromatic, this wine encourages one to simply inhale, repeatedly, taking in layer upon layer of complex aromas. After a protracted sniffing session the first sip of the wine sends a cascade of flavors across the palate. The finish is exceptionally long, with dark fruits lasting so long between sips that our tasting panel eventually succumbed to temptation by taking that next long pull on the wine.
Pair this gorgeous Napa Cabernet Sauvignon with your finest cut of red meat or enjoy it all on its own. Either way, you will be delighted at every loving sip.
Tasting Profile
Deep, dark, beautiful, perfect ruby, with evenly concentrated color - from core to edge. When swirled, thin, wine-solored tears fall slowly down the glass.
Bold and deeply fragrant, with a big rush of black cherry, blackberry, bramble, spice and freshly tilled earth. As the wine breathes, it opens to reveal dried fig, clove, sweetwoods and cassis.
Plush and velvet smooth on the attack. Gradually, medium tannins take hold, adding a bit of weight and giving the wine an elegant and mouth coating fulness. Balanced acidity helps to sustain the fruits and spice, long into the finish.
Dark and full, with sweet mixed bramble berries, Bing cherry and plum. These are balanced against darkest black cherry, cocoa, dried dark rose petals, dried leather, dried soil, cigar box, black pepper and a fine hint of green olive.
Very elegant, very flavorful and very long with black fruit flavors that very gradually give way to earthy soil, dried flowers, spice and pepper. At the very end, a soft, flinty dryness spreads all around the palate.
What the Winery Says
Nestled in the heart of Napa Valley, Grgich Hills Estate is an iconic winery that farms its vineyards naturally, without artificial pesticides or herbicides. Elegant and full bodied, our Cabernet Sauvignon’s complex aromas of black berries, black licorice and a hint of cocoa powder are the perfect partner with grilled steak, roasted rack of lamb or venison stew.
Varietal blend:
89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 3% Merlot
Alcohol
14.5%
pH
3.62
Total acidity
5.9g/L
Fermentation
Indigenous yeast. 4 weeks of skin contact
Aging
21 months in French oak, 60% new.
Brix at harvest
25°average
About the Winery
Victor of Paris Tasting
Miljenko “Mike” Grgich first gained international recognition at the celebrated “Paris Tasting” of 1976. Then, in a now-historic blind tasting, a panel of eminent French judges swirled, sniffed, and sipped an array of the fabled white Burgundies of France and a small sampling of upstart Chardonnays from the Napa Valley. When their scores were tallied, the French judges were shocked: they had chosen Mike’s 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay as the finest white wine in the world. Mon Dieu! The results stunned the international wine establishment and immediately earned Mike a reputation as one of the greatest winemakers in the world.
The Paris Tasting served notice to the world that the California wine industry was on the move, and it laid the groundwork for the creation of Grgich Hills Cellar. After his victory in Paris, Mike sat down with Austin Hills and his sister, Mary Lee Strebl, from the Hills Bros. Coffee family, and on Independence Day 1977, they gave birth to Grgich Hills. It was an ideal partnership. Austin owned premium vineyards in Rutherford, in the heart of the Napa Valley, and with his extensive background in business, he put the winery on its financial feet. Mike, with his fierce commitment to making wines of the highest quality, began producing what immediately became our signature wine: the exquisite, richly complex Chardonnays that win awards and delight wine lovers across America and throughout the world.
Consistent Quality
Today, we remain committed to making distinctive wines with quality, consistency and longevity. We are proud that world leaders such as Presidents Reagan and Clinton, Queen Elizabeth II and French President François Mitterrand chose our wines to serve at state dinners, but we are just as proud that every single day discriminating wine drinkers count on Grgich Hills to turn their own dinners into special occasions.
We treat each of our six different wines as a special child, carefully nurturing their development and character. Our pride and joy is our Chardonnay, an elegant example of the varietal displaying rich flavors and exquisite balance. As a complement to the Chardonnay, we also produce a refreshingly crisp Fumé Blanc, a rich and spicy Zinfandel, a Cabernet Sauvignon with tremendous depth and complexity, a lush and richly fragrant Merlot, and a luscious dessert wine named “Violetta,” in honor of Mike’s daughter, Violet.
Now 89 years old, and still sporting his signature blue beret, Mike was inducted into the Vinter Hall of Fame in 2008 in honor of his many contributions to the wine industry. While many other Napa wineries pursue strategies of expansion, Mike, along with his daughter, Violet, and his nephew, Ivo Jeramaz, prefer to stay small. Their aim, year after year, is to improve the quality of their vineyards and their wines, relying on Mike’s unique artistic and intuitive touch. This strategy continues to pay significant dividends.
Sustainable Farming
Committed to natural winegrowing and sustainability, we farm our five estate vineyards without artificial fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides, rely on wild yeast fermentation and use our passion and the art of winemaking to handcraft food-friendly, balanced and elegant wines.
Beginning with the 2003 vintage, all Grgich Hills wines were labeled “Estate Grown.” This guarantees a consistently superior level of quality and it means that Grgich Hills will always remain a shining symbol of prestige and good taste. In recognition of that important milestone, the winery changed its name in 2007 to Grgich Hills Estate.
