Joseph Phelps Vineyards
Backus Vineyards
2018 Cabernet Sauvignon
Oakville
Auction 24 | Lot No. 134
Vintage: 2018
Joseph Phelps Vineyards
Backus Vineyards
Cabernet Sauvignon
Oakville
5 cases produced
Highlights
- Unique blend of select lots from the Joseph Phelps-owned Backus Vineyard in the eastern Oakville nested appellation
- Vines from the rocky Plateau block and lower North blocks were chosen for this lot
- Comprised of 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Malbec and 3% Petit Verdot
- Striking purity and freshness, showing dense, highly concentrated dark fruit, violet and graphite
Description
The Joseph Phelps Vineyards Premiere Napa Valley wine was created from our Backus Vineyard, located on the eastern hillsides of the Oakville nested appellation, one of the most coveted grape growing regions in Napa Valley. With its distinctive red pigmented ancient volcanic soils, Joseph Phelps has been the only wine producer from this special location for more than 40 years. This wine is a blend of 91 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 6 percent Malbec and 3 percent Petit Verdot from select vines planted along the rocky Plateau block, located 500 feet above the valley floor and the lower North blocks, where the property’s iconic smokehouse rests. This one-of-a-kind blend will continue aging in a new Taransaud 5 French oak barrel for 24 months before bottling. This 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon from Backus Vineyard is strikingly pure and fresh with classic eastern Oakville terroir of dense, highly concentrated dark fruit, fragrant violet and graphite, bold tannin structure and a lengthy finish.
Wine Facts
- Single vineyard wine
- Sustainably produced
- Wine is 100% estate grown and bottled
Ashley Hepworth
Winemaker, Joseph Phelps Vineyards
Ashley Hepworth came to Joseph Phelps Vineyards in 1999 with a palate honed by working in restaurant kitchens, including the celebrated Charlie Trotter’s in Chicago. The experience also exposed Ashley to wine – she became friendly with Charlie Trotter’s sommeliers – and ultimately led her to apply for a harvest intern position at Joseph Phelps Vineyards. She got the job, and after working the harvest of 1999 she stayed on as a cellar worker, a “from the ground up experience” she says she wouldn’t trade for anything. From there Ashley went on to positions at the winery as a lab technician and enologist, and in 2004 she was named associate winemaker, overseeing all day-to-day winemaking operations.
In 2005 Ashley had the opportunity to expand her winemaking horizons when she took a “mini” sabbatical to work a harvest in Bordeaux at Chateau Angelus in St. Emilion. She earned a Winemaking Certificate from the Viticulture and Enology Department at the University of California at Davis in 2006, and in 2008 she was promoted to winemaker at Joseph Phelps Vineyards.
“I’ve been fortunate to work with some great winemakers at Joseph Phelps, and I’ve learned a lot from each one of them,” says Ashley, who credits the winery’s founder, Joe Phelps, with establishing the overall philosophical approach which guides the winery today. “He always pushed the winemaking team to explore, to do better. There was no limit. He always said ‘don’t stop at good, make it great.’ Even though he’s gone, we have a team that understands that really well.”
Ashley’s approach to winemaking at Joseph Phelps is deceptively simple: let the vineyards and the vintages speak for themselves. “Our estate vineyards give me such quality and purity of fruit,” she says. “There’s a consistency to our wines, but it’s not because of a recipe, it’s because the vineyards are so solid.” Still, Ashley is very much in favor of vintage expression. “We don’t want every vintage to taste the same.”
Country born: United States
Education: B.S. in Biology and a minor in Chemistry at Fort Lewis College, a Winemaking Certificate from the Viticulture and Enology Department at the University of California at Davis and worked the 2005 harvest at Chateau Angelus, St. Emilion.
Years in the wine industry: 20-30 years
Winemaking Philosophy:
Minimalism - allow what the vineyard offers to reflect in the wine.
Winery Distribution
Joseph Phelps Vineyards is distributed in the following markets. Please contact the winery directly for the most up-to-date distribution information and to explore commercial opportunities.
Joseph Phelps Vineyards Contact: Mitzi Inglis
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