Beaulieu Vineyard Debuts Rutherford Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon as New Portfolio Offering

Founded in 1900 and a pioneering winery of the Rutherford appellation, Beaulieu Vineyard announces the release of its inaugural vintage of the 2018 Rutherford Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon ($80 per 750 ml bottle). With more than century of experience in Rutherford, Beaulieu’s extensive vineyard study, block by block, and its experimentation with various techniques culminates in this new wine – the ultimate expression of Rutherford terroir. The 2018 Rutherford Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon will join the winery’s portfolio of premium California Cabernets as a new offering that pays homage to this distinctive Napa Valley sub-region and its specific “Rutherford Dust” characteristics. 

A founding member of the Rutherford Dust Society, a membership organization dedicated to the highest standards of grape-growing and winemaking in the region, Beaulieu Vineyard has not debuted a nationally available, new wine since 1990. The winery’s heritage in the region makes it one of the largest and oldest landowners of vineyards in Rutherford—amounting to over 360 acres—and its history as one of the preeminent cult Cabernet producers makes it a must-know for wine lovers and collectors alike. Beaulieu Vineyard’s Rutherford Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is sourced from some of the best and most historic blocks in the heart of Rutherford. Specifically, the fruit comes from the BV Ranch 1, 2, and 10 blocks that are located on the expressive Rutherford Bench sub-area of the AVA. These blocks produce intensely concentrated and layered fruit, resulting in a wine that is a quintessential representation of Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon, with layered aromatics, depth of flavor, finesse, and taut structure.

“The fantastic climatic conditions in 2018 along with our historic holdings in Rutherford allowed us to produce an exceptional first vintage of this wine. It was my goal to capture the essence of what first intrigued legendary California wine figure André Tchelistcheff when he tasted our wines in 1936—the note of clean dirt and a touch of something high-toned, reminiscent of pencil shavings,” says Winemaker and General Manager Trevor Durling. “The winemaking team and I handled the fruit with the utmost care, enhancing the distinctive attributes through a 21-month aging process exclusively utilizing French oak barrels that we had yet to employ before. The resulting wine offers depth and balance along with the tell-tale note of ‘Rutherford Dust,’ leading to a velvety-smooth and persistent finish. Tchelistcheff was right when he said, ‘It takes Rutherford Dust to make great wine.’”

The 2018 vintage was one of the premier vintages of the past decade for Napa Valley. The region enjoyed an ideal growing season and harvest, resulting in a stunning first vintage of the Rutherford Reserve with concentrated flavors, color, and excellent acidity. Aged in 80% new French oak with small percentages of Malbec and Petit Verdot to enhance the complex flavor profile, Beaulieu Vineyard’s newest offering will cement its place as a wine to know in its debut year and beyond as it becomes a permanent offering for the winery.

Tasting and technical notes for the 2018 Rutherford Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon are detailed below.

Beaulieu Vineyard 2018 Rutherford Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon (SRP $80)

This inaugural 2018 Rutherford Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon opens with an expressively perfumed bouquet of exuberant dark-berry fruits, Black Forest cake, and crème de cassis, florals of violet and rose petal, and lifted baking spice notes from the well-integrated oak barrel character. On the palate, juicy, saturated black cherry and macerated red raspberry supported by darker hints of espresso, mocha, and bittersweet chocolate. The structured “Rutherford Dust” tannins are grippy and plush, with signature cocoa powder texture and expansive mouthfeel. Rich, with depth and balance, leading to a velvety-smooth and persistent finish.

For more information, visit https://www.bvwines.com or follow @BVWines on Instagram and Facebook.

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