Seavey Vineyard
Seavey Vineyard
Estate Bottled Cabernet Sauvignon 1997
Saunter Wines
Cabernet Sauvignon 2007
My first time with this wine, made by TRB with fruit from the Clark-Claudon Vineyard on Howell Mtn. Extremely dark in the glass, almost black with just a touch of red at the edge. The nose is great - very expressive on opening, with lots of sweet dark cherries at the fore. The palate shows more dark cherries and black currant fruit, complemented by notes of coffee and plenty of fine tannins on the back end. This reminds me of a slightly fruitier version of a Seavey cab. Really good stuff. — 8 years ago
Sinegal Estate
Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2016
Of the Napa wines I tasted over 4 days on this trip, the 16 Sinegal Reserve & the 13 Seavey Cabernet were my favorites. Both great wines but, stylistically very different. The Seavy big and bold and the Sinegal pure beauty & elegance.
The nose reveals very dark currants. Dark & milk chocolate. Blackberries, creamy black raspberries, black plum & plum, mocha powder, core of anise, beautiful dark spice, soft volcanic soils, some dry brush and lavender, violets and fresh dark red florals.
The body is full. The tannins are really meaty but, exceptionally soft, fine and meaty. Lots of dark spice with plenty of heat. The mouthfeel is gorgeously sexy with feminine elegance. Dark & milk chocolate. Blackberries, creamy black raspberries, black plum & plum, mocha powder, core of anise, beautiful dark spice, big sweet tarry notes, soft volcanic soils, some dry brush, lavender, violets and fresh dark red florals. The acidity is perfect. The finish is well balanced sexy and gorgeous. The structure, tension say this needs to cellar eight to ten years.
Photos of; tasting cellar area, modern stainless tanks, outside terrace tasting and or dining area and their grounds and lake.
Producer history and notes...Sinegal Estate was founded in 2013 with wines made from their 30 acre Inglewood estate in St Helena (not to be confused with the Inglenook Estate in Rutherford). This is not a new property, it was part of an original land grant and its more modern day history dates back to 1879 when owner Alton Williams purchased the property and planted the first vines in 1881.
The property has changed owners a number of times over the decades. At one point the Jaegers’ owned the estate, Bill Jaeger and his wife Lila lived here. These Napa Valley pioneers were in part responsible for helping establish Freemark Abbey and Rutherford Hill. Lila was also a gardener and established beautiful gardens on the property.
Owners, David (father)and James (son) Sinegal purchased the property in 2013. James was the co-founder of Costco and once CEO. David worked at Costco for 21 years.
After the purchase, David divided each of their vineyards into smaller blocks, picking selectively (30 times in 2013) rather than all at once, and adding technology to the vineyards so they have up to the date reports on a number of data points including temperatures, soil moisture and various barometric pressures. If they want to selectively water, say vine #67 in row number three, they can do so with their irrigation system. Extremely efficient!
Nine acres of vines are planted to various red varietals including; Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot. They have some of the older Cabernet Franc vines in the valley that are 30+ years old.
The soils here are diverse and can vary even within small geographic ranges on the property. Some of their vineyards are planted on the valley floor – while their upper vineyards are hillside, on the edges of the Mayacamas Mountains.
Their landscape above the property is interesting and part of the Mayacamas Mountains. Visually, it appears drier than other parts of this mountain range and the vegetation reflects that with grey pine and more open natural vegetation rather than the thicker wooded vegetation more commonly associated with parts of Spring and Diamond Mountains to the north.
After purchasing the property, David created planned and laid out his vision to create a world-class boutique wine making operation. Many wineries in the Napa Valley can take years before they come to fruition, not so here. After only about 10 months, the existing winery was remodeled. 6,500 feet of caves were expanded and drilled into the hillside behind the winery and a new hospitality center was built. The hospitality center ties in very well with the winery. From the small tasting room, large doors open revealing the tanks.
A vegetable garden slightly under an acre grows just south of the winery building. Vegetables from this garden are sold to nearby restaurants.
A skeleton key appears on the labels of their wine and is prominently displayed on the outside of their winery building. This has historical significance. The original key opens the front door to the historic home on site and is displayed in the tasting room. With respect to the history of this property, this one key has already become iconic to the brand.
You only need to look inside of the winery to see that their wine making team is focused on quality. Each of the small lot tanks have built in pumps which can be controlled and programmed to do pump-overs anytime of the day or night. In addition, these tanks have multiple points at which the temperature can be controlled. These tanks do not necessarily handle all their fermentation’s. They also ferment small lots in puncheons and barrels as needed. Control across the board is the key here and it is the control of the details in wine making that is is so integral from when the fruit first arrives through to when it is bottled.
2013 was their inaugural release. The focus is currently on two primary varietals, Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2013 Sauvignon Blanc were sourced from the estate but, then it was determined it was growing in an area better suited for red varietals so it was torn up and new plantings were made in the back of the property. While not far from these original plantings, their new home for their Sauvignon Blanc features different soils and is growing in a cooler part of the property.
The wine making team has been experimenting with the style of this varietal since 2013 with subsequent vintages seeing more oak. Especially, using the slightly longer cigar shaped barrels , which have extra surface area for maximizing complexities including textural feel imparted from aging the wine on the lees in these particular barrels. Maceration on the red wines is often 8-10 days and sometimes up to 20 days.
Most of their sales are direct to visitors or through their mailing list. However, they do have some distribution outside California in Florida, New York and Washington. Primarily to restaurants. — 6 years ago
Seavey Vineyard
Estate Grown Napa Valley Chardonnay 2013
A delicious wine, but I am more partial to Seavey reds. Buttery, lemony, grassy, butterscotchy and a beautiful pale gold. — 6 years ago
Caymus Vineyards
Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Not much age between the Napa wines in the 15-wine lineup tonight. An 06 Bucella, a 74 BV Georges Latour, a 95 Seavey, a 2011 Wm. Harrison, and this one. This one won the "youthful ager" award of the night. Decanted in a swan-neck decanter, this wine had immense fruit forward notes and spice. Edges had rounded nicely. This wine was dark, full bodied, dense, and tasted like a 2010 or 2012. Excellent wine. The finish was still a bit tannic although an hour in the decanter really did help to elongate the finish. With the way this one was drinking tonight, this one has probably 10-20 years ahead of it. Drink or hold! — 7 years ago
Seavy
Cabernet Sauvignon 1991
Astonishingly delicious. I love Seavey wines, and this is way up there! Musty, tobacco, chocolate, peppered beef, dark cherries -- there is a lot going on. So glad I still have two bottles left in my cellar. — 7 years ago
David T
Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator
Few wines fit perfectly into my wheelhouse. This is one of a few. I picked this up at Seavey last weekend. 1997 is such a historic Napa vintage and this wine lives up to every inch of it. It’s a wine that you want to slowly sip all night.
On the nose; very, ripe; blackberries, sweet & sour dark cherries, black raspberries, black plum, huckleberries with slightly baked strawberries haunt the background. Mixed berry cola, vanilla, cherry liqueur notes, some black licorice, limestone minerals, very light clove, soft subtle dark spices, dry crushed rock powder, sweet tarry notes, saddle-wood, very soft leather, forest floor, blue flowers and dark fresh & withering flowers.
The body is gloriously soft, round and beyond elegant. Still has plenty of soft, round, slightly tarry tannins. The structure, tension, length and balance have hit its sweet spot with another 7-10 years of really good drinking left. It’s harmony on the palate. Ripe; blackberries, sweet & sour dark cherries, black raspberries, black plum, huckleberries with slightly baked strawberries haunt the background. Mixed berry cola, vanilla, notes of caramel, cherry liqueur notes, steeped fruit tea, some black licorice, just a hint of herbaceous, limestone minerals, very light clove, soft subtle dark spices, dusty tannins, dry crushed rock powder, gritty volcanic minerals, dry clay, sweet tarry notes, saddle-wood, chewy soft leather, forest floor, blue flowers and dark fresh & withering flowers. The acidity is about as perfect as I’ve had. The finish is nothing short of astounding. It’s long, elegant, ripe, well balanced and doesn’t end. One of the more exceptional wines I’ve had in some time.
Photos of, Seavey Winery & tasting room, the stairs the lead up to Williams office and show that late 18th century architecture, Williams desk in his old office and their Estate vines with the hillside painting the background. — 6 years ago