Wine Last Sold on: August 27, 2008
Oakville Ranch Vineyards
Today's Featured Wine:
2000 Robert's Blend
| Varietal: | Red Blend |
| Vineyard: | Oakville Ranch Estate Vineyard |
| Region: | California: Napa Valley |
| Allocation: | Last Few Cases Library Release |
| Avg. Price: | $80.00 |
| Wine Spies: | $64.00 |
The Winery Says:
Oakville Ranch Vineyards, Member, Napa Valley Vintners
About This Wine:
The extremely limited annual production Robert’s blend is in essence a homage to the founder of oakville ranch, Robert Miner. Bob was a big-time lover of Cab Franc, long before it became fashionable. This blend captures the alluring aromatics and briar texture of Cab Franc as well as the depth, backbone and curranty flavors of cabernet sauvignon. Truly one of a kind.
About The Vineyard:
Located on a sloping plateau that rises to 1,400 feet above the Silverado Trail on the East side of the Napa Valley, Oakville Ranch was one of the Oakville appellation’s pioneering vineyards. Since then, several other highly regarded and prestigious wineries have become neighbors, drawn to this hillside for its powerful, signature-red volcanic soils. In 1989, when Bob and Mary Miner purchased the 350-acre ranch, 55 acres of vineyards were planted to Chardonnay and Bordeaux varietals – Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc.
Through the years, the vineyards have been meticulously tended. Additional small vineyards enclaves have been developed as certain sites have revealed their promise. The shallow and miserly rocky soils slowly release their Spartan nutrients, naturally limiting the grape crop to an intense few bunches per vine.
About The Winery:
In 1989, when Bob and Mary Miner purchased the 350-acre ranch, 55 acres of vineyards were planted to Chardonnay and Bordeaux varietals – Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc. Located on a sloping plateau that rises to 1,400 feet above the Silverado Trail on the East side of the Napa Valley, Oakville Ranch was one of the appellation’s pioneering vineyards. Since then, several other highly regarded and prestigious wineries have become neighbors, drawn to this hillside for its powerful, signature-red volcanic soils. Through the years, the vineyards have been meticulously tended. Additional small vineyard enclaves have been developed as certain sites have revealed their promise. The shallow and miserly rocky soils slowly release their Spartan nutrients, naturally limiting the grape crop to an intense few bunches per vine. With each vintage, the wines of Oakville Ranch speak clearly of their origin – a richly layered expression of its location, soil, structure, and heritage.
About The Winemaker:
Ashley Heisey, Winemaker – Of the Oakville Ranch wines, Winemaker Ashley Heisey, says, “The ranch is a patchwork of blocks with different aspects and exposures – each having a distinct vinous voice. It is my challenge to coax them to sing in unison. I have always been awed by the distinctive character and power of the fruit from this ranch.”
Technical Analysis:
Appellation: 100% Napa Valley, Oakville District, 100% Oakville Ranch
Varietals: 68% Cabernet Franc, 32% Cabernet Sauvignon
Harvest Date: October 11-13, 2000
Fermentation: 18 days on the skins
Barrel Aging: 24 months French oak, 60% new French oak
Bottling Date: January 23, 2003
ABV%: 13.6%
Production: 106 cases
The Wine Spies Say:
LIBRARY RAID ALERT!: This wine was recently removed from general circulation. We were able to raid the winery’s library – and secure a small cache for you. Get some – before its gone forever. We got our hands on the final cases…
EXTRA SUPERIOR WINE ALERT!: This is an incredible red wine. Its drinking perfectly and we can’t say enough about how great it is. It’s great, get it, GREAT!!
FREE SHIPPING ALERT!: Want free shipping? Just use savings code LIBRARYSPY when you order six or more bottles and we’ll pay for the Ground Shipping!
Mission Codename: The Great Raid
Operative: Agent Red
Objective: Retrieve a supply the recently archived 2000 Oakville Ranch Robert’s Blend, and make it available exclusively to our Operatives
Mission Status: Accomplished!
Current Winery: Oakville Ranch Vineyards
Wine Subject: 2000 Ranch Robert’s Blend
Winemaker: Ashley Heisey
Backgrounder: When a winery begins to run low on a particular vintage, they usually take it out of circulation and ‘retire’ it to their library. The moment this happens, the wine becomes more rare – or even becomes totally unavailable. Today’s wine is only available here, today. If the winery places the wine on sale again in the future, you’ll likely see prices approaching $100 or more. Read Agent Red’s tasting notes below
Wine Spies Tasting Profile:
Look – Beautiful color for a 2000! Dark garnet in color with great concentration of color to its edges. The wine shows perfect clarity through its deep heart. On swirling, the wine appears bouncy and it settles quickly, leaving behind skinny and tightly-spaced legs
Smell – Lush layers of fruit, earth, smoky meats and blackberry honey. As to the fruit, this wine presents beautiful currant, blackberry, raspberry, and cherry. Earthen components include sweetwood, cigar box, subtle mushroom and stems.
Feel – Medium round and velvet smooth, the wine hovers over the tip tongue at first and then settles all around the mouth, gripping the tip of the tongue at first, and then the edges and rear and, finally, the inside of the cheeks.
Taste – DEEPLY delicious with layers of flavors that mirror the aromas. Add to these tastes additional flavors of mild salad herbs, edible flowers and cedar
Finish – This wine coats the mouth, leaving behind a slightly stringy feel, with flavors that tail off sweet then slightly more tart and dry
Conclusion – On first taste of this wine, I was in love. Regular readers of my mission reports know that I love great Cabernet Franc. To me, when a Cab Franc is really exceptional, it is my perfect wine. Blended with exceptional Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon (itself a genetic child of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc), this blend is nearly perfect! This eight year-old beauty is drinking perfectly now and I have to suppress my goosebumps when I think of what it will be like after I lay a few bottles down for a couple of more years. I doubt that I’ll be able to hold out, however, as this wine is drinking incredibly… right now!
Wine Spies Vineyard Check:
The location of the Oakville Ranch Vineyard can be seen in this satellite photo.
Average Wine Spy Points: |
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I LOVE THIS WINE! LOVE IT. Deep, flavorful, delicious, soft, lush and roundly beautiful, this wine is brilliantly balanced and perfectly drinkable. From start to finish, this wine is an experience. I love Cabernet Franc and Napa Cabernet Sauvignon and this wine blends the perfect juice of the two in a wondrous way. Oakville Ranch is hallowed ground, and this wine is now among my very favorites.
Agent Red Says: We encourage you to share your reviews and comments about this wine. If you need help scoring or using tasting tags, click on the help links on the form. You’ll also earn more Spy Points for each review you submit.
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