Snowden Vineyards
Melchior Kemper Vineyard
2013 Cabernet Franc
Napa Valley
Auction 19 | Lot No. 61
Vintage: 2013
Snowden Vineyards
Melchior Kemper Vineyard
Cabernet Franc
Napa Valley
10 cases produced
Highlights
- A key component in our Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, this Cabernet Franc makes a striking stand-alone wine
- From our historic Melchior Kemper Vineyard 800 feet above the valley floor overlooking Rutherford
- Gently extracted, a precise, terroir-driven Cabernet Franc with lacey aromas of violets and spice
- Vineyard to glass—wild yeasts and no filtration or fining
Description
Our Snowden 2013 Napa Valley Cabernet Franc “Melchior Kemper Vineyard” is produced entirely from Cabernet Franc grapes grown in our vineyards at 800 feet above the valley floor overlooking the Rutherford AVA. A key blending varietal in our Reserve Cabernet Sauvignons, this wine presents our Cabernet Franc as a distinctive “stand-alone” wine. Named after legendary grower Melchior Kemper, who produced grapes on the Snowden property from 1881 to 1895, our Cabernet Franc vineyard block is made up of volcanic, rhyolite soils with a southern exposure. 2013 was a lovely, warm, even growing year. Winemaker Diana Snowden Seysses delivers the terroir and the vintage into the glass through classic, minimally invasive winemaking, including an all wild yeast fermentation, no enzyme, acid or sugar additions, no filtration and no fining. Gently extracted, the wine shows fine tannins and precise, lacey aromas of violets and spice. The wine will be aged for 20 months in new and seasoned French oak barrels before bottling in May, 2015.
Wine Facts
- Wine is unfiltered
- Single vineyard wine
- Sustainably produced
- Wine is 100% estate grown and bottled
Diana Snowden Seysses
Winemaker, Snowden Vineyards
Diana graduated from the viticulture and enology program at the University of California at Davis in 2001. During and after her studies, she worked at wineries in California and France, including Robert Mondavi Winery, Mumm Napa Valley, the Araujo Estate, Fleur de Bouard, Domaine Leflaive and Ramey Wine Cellars. Diana became oenologist at Domain Dujac in Burgundy in 2003 and winemaker at Snowden commencing with the 2005 harvest. Since then has divided her professional time between California and Burgundy.
Country born: United States
Education: Bachelor of Science in Viticulture and Enology, University of California at Davis, 2001
Years in the wine industry: 10-15 years
Winemaking Philosophy:
The most moving and memorable wines express the place from which they come. My goal as a winemaker is to allow the site to speak. I try to exercise the self-restraint to allow nature to do what it will, to create the environments that let desired characteristics evolve naturally, to recognize the signs that require intervention, and to make intervention the exception rather than the rule.
Unwined
3690 J King Street
Alexandria VA 22302
703-861-9508
Premiere Napa Valley Wine Collection
| Winery | Vintage | Variety | Appellation | Fanciful | Auction |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coho | 2013 | Merlot | Coombsville | Michael Black Vineyard-North Ave. | 19 |
| Lail Vineyards | 2013 | Sauvignon Blanc | Napa Valley | Henry VI | 19 |
| Snowden Vineyards | 2013 | Cabernet Franc | Napa Valley | Melchior Kemper Vineyard | 19 |
| ADAMVS | 2012 | Cabernet Sauvignon | Howell Mountain | Borne | 18 |
| Cain Vineyard and Winery | 2011 | Cabernet Franc | Spring Mountain District | François' Pick: Orchard Block | 17 |
| Davies Vineyards | 2011 | Cabernet Sauvignon | Diamond Mountain District | Rock Garden Block | 17 |
| Larkmead Vineyards | 2011 | Cabernet Sauvignon | Napa Valley | 17 |
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