2009 James Cole Cabernet Sauvignon

James Cole Estate Winery is on the legendary Silverado Trail. It was founded in 2000 when James Cole, a former wine business executive in British Columbia, and his wife Colleen, a marketing specialist, bought 11 acres of property in Napa and planted vineyards. Charles Hendricks in the consulting winemaker and Jim Regusci is the vineyard manager. James Cole’s flagship wine are their estate Cabernet Sauvignon, though they also make Bordeaux-style blends, Zinfandel, Petit Verdot, Malbec, Ice Wine and Chardonnay.

Stags Leap District AVA in southern Napa Valley has a storied history. It is home to Stag’s Leap Cellars, whose 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon won the famous Judgment of Paris blind tasting that included several of Bordeaux’s most exalted First Growths. Vineyards were started in area in the late 19th century, but the district’s rise in prestige started in the late 1960s when Nathan Fay planted Cabernet Sauvignon. Fay later sold his estate to Warren Winiarski, founder of Stag’s Leap Cellars. The district was given its own AVA designation in 1989, and today there are 1,400 vineyard acres. The AVA is especially notable because it was the first in the U.S. to be granted AVA status based on terroir. Its distinctive soils is a mix of volcanic soils, river sediment and loamy clay-like soil. Because the soils don’t retain water well, vineyards in Stag’s Leap tend to grow fruit with great intensity and flavor. Cabernet Sauvignon accounts for 95% of the grapes planted in Stags Leap.

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.