2012 Gandona Encosta Cabernet Sauvignon

Gandona was founded in 2006 when Manuel and Cristina Pires purchased the former Long Vineyards on Pritchard Hill. Pires grew up in Portugal where he spent many seasons on his grandfather’s farm, and he later headed up a major international security company. But Pires was drawn to the Napa Valley, which reminded him of Portugal’s celebrated Douro wine region where his grandfather farmed. Pires hired consultant Philippe Melka as winemaker and Jim Barbour as vineyard manager. Both men are widely admired in California and elsewhere. Melka started his career at Château Haut Brion and worked in most of the major winemaking regions of the world before settling in Napa Valley. Barbour has been vineyard manager for Grace Family and Pride, among many others. Gandona produces Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines, though Pires has also planted a block of Touriga Nacional grapes which are used to make a Port-style dessert wine. Robert M. Parker Jr. has rated the Gandona Cabernets in the mid-90s.

St. Helena AVA is at the northern end of Napa Valley just north of Rutherford and south of Calistoga. It is a relatively warm climate thanks to the Mayacamas Mountains on its western edge, which protect it from Pacific Ocean fog. Out of the 9,000 acres in the appellation, some 1,500 are under vine. The principal grapes grown in St. Helena are the Bordeaux grapes of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. St. Helena is considered prime wine producing territory, and it was one of the first important wine producing regions in northern California. The legendary Charles Krug founded his winery just north of the town of St. Helena in 1873, and today the appellation is home to many prestigious producers, including Abreu, Grace Family and Spottswoode.

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.