2008 Blankiet Estate Paradise Hills Vineyard Red Wine

Blankiet Estate is an estate in the foothills of the Mayacamas Mountains near Yountville, in Napa Valley. Founded in 1996 by Claude Blankiet, a businessman and a native of Dijon, France, and his wife Katherine, the estate was founded to make Bordeaux-style blends. Blankiet’s first winemakers were Helen Turley and John Wetlaufer. Seven years later Martha McClellan came winemaker, with consultation from Michel Rolland. Today the winemaker is Denis Malbec, formerly cellar master at Chateau Latour. Blankiet makes two flagship wines: Blankiet Estate, predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon, and Rive Droite, a Saint-Emilion style Merlot-based blend. Robert M. Parker Jr. has written that Blankiet’s wines are “world class, combining the extraordinary power of the site with unbelievable elegance and definition.”

Yountville AVA is just west of Stags Leap and north of Oak Knoll. It is centered around the town of Yountville, named for George Yountville, who planted the area’s first vineyard in 1836. The district received appellation status in 1999 and it includes 4,000 vineyard acres. It is known for tannic Cabernet Sauvignon that has a reputation for aging well. Dominus Estate, formerly Napanook Vineyard, is one of the most prestigious producers in Yountville, and in all of Napa Valley.