Davies Vineyards
Jack's Block, 96 Vines
2008 Cabernet Sauvignon
Diamond Mountain District
Auction 14 | Lot No. 103
Vintage: 2008
Davies Vineyards
Jack's Block, 96 Vines
Cabernet Sauvignon
Diamond Mountain District
10 cases produced
Description
Named in honor of family patriarch Jack Davies, J. Davies is the product of an intimate knowledge of a place and a passion to create delicious red wine. Nestled between Nash Creek and Ritchie Creek on the southern slopes of Diamond Mountain, this is the site of Napa Valley's first hillside vineyards, planted in 1862. The Davies carefully began replanting these vineyards to Bordeaux varietals for the J. Davies label in 1994. Produced from 96 select Cabernet Sauvignon vines in Jack's Block, this barrel lot was made specifically for Premiere Napa Valley. With integrated tannins and a luxurious finish, the flavors of the wine are exemplary of the vineyard's late-ripening, richly concentrated fruit. - Sean Thompson and Hugh Davies, Winemakers - Celia Welch, Consulting Winemaker
Aging Process
22 Months in French Oak. 10 months in bottle.
Wine Facts
- pH: 3.8
- 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 |
 |
Sean Thompson
Winemaker, Davies Vineyards
I started my career in winemaking with Beringer at the old Italian Swiss Colony in Asti. The hook was set with the discovery of the diversity of flavors and aromas produced by the simple grape and its fermentation. I continued my enological exploration with the fermentation of red wines after moving to Napa Valley for a position at the Merlot house of Rutherford Hill Winery.
I returned to the University of California, Davis in the fall of 2002, to work with Dr. David Mills in earning a Masters of Science in Viticulture and Enology.
Upon graduation, I began at Staglin Family Estate in Rutherford, CA, working directly with Luc Morlet to mine the terroir of estate-driven Cabernet Sauvignon. This final piece led me to join Schramsberg in the summer of 2006 as the J. Davies Diamond Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon Assistant Winemaker, and taking over as the winemaker in 2008. In 2017, I became Director Winemaking for Schramsberg and Davies Vineyards.
Country born: United States
Education: B.S. Chemistry, U.C. Davis
Masters of Science in Viticulture and Enology, U.C. Davis
Years in the wine industry: 20-30 years
Winemaking Philosophy:
Keeping your ears open and your mouth shut. Much of my education was shaped by asking questions and listening to the answers. I also believe in fostering an environment to encourage questions from others in and outside the winery. People want to be a part of the experience of producing spectacular wines.
Q&A With the Winemaker
Q: Premiere Napa Valley wines are innovative and allow each winery to showcase the region's sense of exploration in fine winemaking. What kind of exploration did your Premiere Napa Valley wine allow you to do?
A: Premier Napa Valley provides me the opportunity to choose one of my best single vineyard lots, and fully allow our Diamond Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon to shine with all of its glory. Outside of the two NVV special lots that I produce, every J. Davies wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and the other Bordeaux varietals that we grown here on the property. This PNV wine allowed me to focus in one varietal and create a wine that is the top expression of that varietal.
Q: What was your inspiration for this offering?
A: J. Davies is a Cabernet Sauvignon house, and it is my goal to put forward the best Cabernet Sauvignon offering for PNV. During the 2008 growing season, we identified these 96 vines in Jack's Block as being superb expression of what Cabernet Sauvignon could be, and tagged this block as our PNV wine even before harvest. Doing this, I was able to craft this one barrel early on, knowing that this one barrel would need to stand on its own in the end. Having this early focus was essential in producing this stunning offering.
Q: Fill in the blanks: I chose to make this wine from this particular ______________ because ______________.
A: I chose to make this wine from this particular block because During our field sampling process, my consulting winemaker, Celia Welch, and I discovered that of our 43 acres (38 of which are Cabernet Sauvignon) these 96 vines were the best that our property was producing in 2008. We know that the best wines come from the best grapes, and these were our best grapes. The results speak for themselves.
Q: Why should a wine lover have a bottle of this wine in their cellar?
A: We have the perfect combination of site and winemaking experience to produce one of the top Cabernet Sauvignons in Napa Valley. J. Davies grapes are grown on the Napa Valley's oldest hillside vineyards, on the historic Schramsberg Vineyards property, dating back to 1862. Our Diamond Mountain District vineyards are the southernmost vineyards on Diamond Mountain, flanked by two creeks. This dynamic location, along with shallow soil conditions, produces an environment which produces a deep, dark berry profile and great tannins. Our winemaking team comes in with over 60 years of winemaking experience, and along with our consulting winemaker Celia Welch, we are able to craft an outstanding wine offering that shines as a true expression of Diamond Mountain Cabernet.
San Francisco 49ers / Levy
4949 Marie P. DeBartolo Way
Santa Clara CA 95054-1229
408-562-4925
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