2018 Red Wine
Napa Valley
This one-of-a-kind wine showcases a red blend from the rocky slopes of our Sage Vineyard estate atop Mount Veeder. Our high-elevation, marine-influenced site is the cornerstone of Darioush Signature wines - responsible for cultivating wines with inherent complexity, power and finesse. Each block of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot selected for this Premiere Napa Valley blend expresses the purity of this site and the varietal in equal measure. Elevating this harmonious blending, the idyllic 2018 vintage in Napa Valley, with its moderate weather and extended hang-time, enhanced the wine’s most desirable traits - imparting exceptional vibrancy of fruit, freshness and balance. This solitary pursuit was crafted for collectors and will continue to evolve in bottle for years to come.
Winemaker, Darioush
Michel began his work as an oenologist in 1973, a time when modern wine was in its infancy. In 1985 he was offered the opportunity to study the ways to maximize the potential of California’ss wines, and his life as a global winemaking consultant began. He has since worked on four continents, more than a dozen countries, and over 150 different proprieties. Michel continues to advise clients around the world, in addition to serving as the winemaker for properties in Argentina and Bordeaux.
Country born: France
Years in the wine industry: 30+ years
Winemaker, Darioush
Steve manages all winemaking and viticulture activities at Darioush. His understanding of microclimates, the local soils and the wines they produce enable him to create estate wines that best express the character of each individual vineyard. As a winegrower, he believes that the best winemaking begins in the vineyards. Steve personally manages the estate's extensive new vineyard developments and all aspects of the estate's wine production.
Country born: United States
Education: Advanced studies at UC Davis in enology and viticulture
Certifications: table wine production certificate (UCD), A.S. in viticulture Napa College
Internships: Oakville Research Station (biotyping phylloxera)
Mentor: Lori Wood (Freemark Abbey), Larry Wara (Chalk Hill)
Years in the wine industry: 30+ years
Winemaking Philosophy:
Focused on the limited-production of red Bordeaux varietals and small lots of Chardonnay, Viognier and Shiraz, Darioush employs minimal intervention or 'ancien' winemaking techniques, including hand harvesting and handsorting each grape cluster prior to crushing, , small-lot whole-cluster pressing, destemming, cold soaking, extended maceration, barrel-to-barrel racking and bottling without filtration.
This minimalist approach preserves and expresses the true varietal character of Darioush Signature wines. Our main focus is to grow a classic red Bordeaux blend that displays the finest qualities of the estate's unique soils and microclimate.
Winemaker, Darioush
Hope Goldie is our master of a thousand decisions. Hope oversees all oenology and wine production operations; she carries on the meticulous attention paid in the vineyard into the cellar, laboratory and crush pad. Her work is in the fine tuning – lot by lot, she applies her vast knowledge of fermentation science, sensory chemistry, viticulture and enology.
Hope's dream of becoming a winemaker formed in childhood, working alongside her father in Washington making Riesling, Gewurztraminer and Carignan and was crystallized under the tutelage of sensory chemist Ann Noble at UC Davis. As her lead grad student, the California Department of Food & Agriculture sponsored Hope’s quantitative microbiology thesis work on Botrytis cineria. Her subsequent responsibilities as a Brewer at Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, and in cellar operations and oenology at Opus One and other fine estates throughout Napa Valley strengthened her desire to make exceptional, high-end Bordeaux blends.
Hope joined Darioush as our Enologist in 2005 and continued her contributions as Winemaker alongside Darioush's founding Winemaker, Steve Devitt, for ten years before being promoted to Director of Winemaking beginning with the 2018 vintage. Today, Hope continues to oversee all aspects of winemaking at Darioush and extends her expertise as a member of the Board of Directors for the American Society of Enology and Viticulture.
Country born: United States
Education: M.S. in Food Science and Technology/Enology, University of California, Davis, 1998 B.A. History, Earlham College, 1990.
Years in the wine industry: 20-30 years
Winemaking Philosophy:
I’m an advocate of site-expressive, varietally correct wines. My approach is to remain as hands-off as possible, allowing the vineyard to shine through in the finished wine.
Darioush is distributed in the following markets. Please contact the winery directly for the most up-to-date distribution information and to explore commercial opportunities.
Darioush Contact: Yvette Sherer
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