Freemark Abbey
The Tribute
2019 Cabernet Sauvignon
Napa Valley
Auction 25 | Lot No. 45
Vintage: 2019
Freemark Abbey
The Tribute
Cabernet Sauvignon
Napa Valley
5 cases produced
Highlights
- Your wine was crafted as a tribute to our founder and one of the first female winemakers in the Napa Valley circa 1886, Josephine Tychson
- Made by Kristy Melton, who is Freemark Abbey’s second female winemaker since our establishment
- This wine is 100% single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
- Our dry-farmed, sustainably grown vineyard in St. Helena is more than 30 years old
Description
One of Napa Valley’s original Cabernet Sauvignon houses with a legacy dating back to 1886, the historic Freemark Abbey helped pioneer the California wine industry and has become a beacon of enduring quality and tradition. Freemark Abbey has built its reputation as one of Napa Valley’s most storied and trusted Cabernet Sauvignon houses with a classic, elegant style of winemaking that rewards patience with their incredible age-ability. In fact, the winery has built one of the largest library collections of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons dating back to the mid-1960s. With the appointment of Kristy Melton, she becomes the first female winemaker for Freemark Abbey since our founding by Josephine Tychson. This lot was chosen by Kristy as “The Tribute” to Josephine in honor of her legacy in St. Helena. It is a dry-farmed, single vineyard Cabernet from the heart of St. Helena. The wine is rich, complex and textured with notes of blackberry, mocha, espresso and baking spices. Its structure is broad with well-integrated tannins that will age well for decades. With this wine, we honor Josephine and all the hard work she put in over a century ago that has led us where we are today.
Wine Facts
- Wine is unfiltered
- Single vineyard wine
- Wine was dry farmed
- Sustainably produced
- Wine is produced in a Napa Green winery
Kristy Melton
Winemaker, Freemark Abbey
Kristy Melton has more than a decade of experience crafting wines with structure, finesse, and age-worthiness. Before joining Freemark Abbey, Kristy held winemaking roles at several Napa Valley and Sonoma County wineries including Clos Du Val, Bootleg, Kendall-Jackson, Saintsbury, and others. In her role as Director of Winemaking at Napa Valley’s iconic Clos Du Val, her exceptional ability to craft modern wines of balance and elegance was widely credited for the winery’s reemergence as a leader in Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon production.
An El Paso, Texas native, Kristy graduated with a BS in Biology and Animal Science from Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas. Following a passion for science, she began her career as a research scientist at the prestigious National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD. To afford living in the metropolitan area, she supplemented her wages by bartending and working at a winery in Maryland. This brought her into contact with food and wine aficionados and piqued her interest in both. A family trip to Napa Valley brought the realization of the science that underlies winemaking and inspired her to shift her focus towards wine. She enrolled at the University of California at Davis where she earned a Masters in Viticulture and Enology in 2007.
Honored to be named among Wine Enthusiast Magazine’s "Top 40 under 40 Tastemakers" as well as Drinks Business’ "Top 30 under 40 Winemakers to Watch," Kristy leverages her meticulous attention to detail to craft wines of structure, finesse and balance.
Country born: United States
Education: Master's of Science, Viticulture and Enology, UC Davis
Years in the wine industry: 15-20 years
Honors / Awards:
Wine Enthusiast Magazine's "Top 40 under 40 Tastemakers"
Drinks Business "Top 30 under 40 Winemakers to Watch"
Winery Distribution
Freemark Abbey is distributed in the following markets. Please contact the winery directly for the most up-to-date distribution information and to explore commercial opportunities.
Freemark Abbey Contact: Amanda Purser
Domestic:
- California ( Regal Wine Company )
International:
- Australia ( Joval )
- Bahamas ( Island Hotel )
- Belgium ( Vinoscoop )
- Bermuda ( Goslings )
- Bulgaria ( Bibendum )
- Canada ( Summit Fine Wines, LCBO, SAQ )
- Canada - British Columbia ( Summit Fine Wines )
- Canada - Ontario ( LCBO )
- China ( Cofco )
- China ( Sky Regal )
- Czech Republic ( 8Wines )
- Guam ( Island Beverages )
- Hong Kong ( Fine Vintage )
- Japan ( Fwines )
- Luxembourg ( n/a )
- Netherlands ( Verbunt )
- Philippines ( Happy Living )
- Puerto Rico ( Fine Wine Imports )
- South Korea ( A Young )
- Taiwan ( St Finesse )
- United Kingdom ( OenoFuture )
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