Joseph Phelps Vineyards
2008 Cabernet Sauvignon
"Backus Vineyard"
Oakville AVA
Auction 14 | Lot No. 94
Vintage: 2008
Joseph Phelps Vineyards
Cabernet Sauvignon
Oakville
10 cases produced
Description
This blend is from two of the five blocks in our Backus Vineyard in the eastern hills of Oakville. The main component is from the Plateau Block planted in 1998, and the balance is from the North Block planted in 1999. The soil consists of Boomer gravelly loam composed of old rhyolitic bedrock. The red-colored, rocky and well-drained soils retain the heat from long hours of sunlight. Dating back to the original 1977 bottling, only Joseph Phelps Vineyards has made wine from the Backus property.
This blend was created in February 2009 in a Taransaud V barrel and will continue to age in this barrel until bottling in 2011. The Taransaud V barrel is created from tight-grain oak from the Tronçais Forest, aged five years and is one of only a handful of these barrels crafted by Taransaud at their cooperage in Cognac. Expressive aromatics of dark fruits, graphite, violet and cassis combined with a focused palate lend to the concentrated mineral characteristics and the balanced tannin structure of this wine. We are proud to offer this lot, which is a perfect expression of Oakville's terroir.
Wine Facts
- pH: 3.71000
- Wine is unfiltered
- Single vineyard wine
- Sustainably produced
- Wine is 100% estate grown and bottled
Tasting Chart
| bone dry |
|
very sweet |
| light body |
|
very full bodied |
| soft, gentle |
|
very crisp |
| no tannins |
|
heavy tannins |
 |
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.
Wisdom Beverage
2403 Buena Vista Road
Winston Salem NC 27104
336-289-2099
Other Premiere Napa Valley Wines available from Wisdom Beverage:
| Winery | Vintage | Variety | Appellation | Fanciful | Auction |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coho | 2009 | Cabernet Sauvignon | Diamond Mountain District | SummitVine Ranch Upper Block | 15 (2011) |
| Moone-Tsai Vineyards | 2009 | Cabernet Sauvignon | Napa Valley | Cor Leonis | 15 (2011) |
| Joseph Phelps Vineyards | 2008 | Cabernet Sauvignon | Oakville | Backus Vineyard | 14 (2010) |
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.