S.P. Drummer Wines | Library Wines

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THE VINEYARD: This, the fifth vintage of S.P. Drummer wines, is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (55%) and Cabernet Franc (45%) from the Blair Vineyard located between St. Helena and Calistoga on the Silverado Trial in Napa Valley. Other notable brands to make wine from this special site include Duckhorn, Rombauer, and Blair Estate Wines. The vineyard site, bordered by the Silverado Trail, Larkmead Lane, and Selby Creek is characterized by alluvial deposit soils. A combination of attentive winegrowing, excellent soil drainage and a very unique microclimate, yield fruit of the highest quality from the Blair Vineyard.

THE WINE: The 2003 harvest was a warm one in Napa Valley, which produced fully ripened fruit, and ripe, almost oily tannins. The 2003 vintage marks a subtle stylistic change, aiming for a more generous mouthfeel and riper tannins. “Cabernet Sauvignon grown on rocky sites such as the Blair Vineyard produce small berries with ample tannin structure. This Cabernet Franc is reminiscent of exotic black flowers and has an incredible density of flavor, almost atypical for the variety. I believe it is one of the top two or three sites for Cabernet Franc in North America”.

The components were fermented separately prior to blending. The Cabernet Sauvignon required heavy doses of oxygen and was racked three to four times in the first six months followed by an additional two rackings in the next twelve months, thus developing a beautiful viscous mouthfeel. This is complemented by the aromatic and exotic Cabernet Franc, creating a complex yet approachable wine. The wine was aged for eighteen months in French Oak (65% new).

Alcohol:	14.2%
Total Acid:	5.2 g/L
pH:	3.76
Total cases:	938 12-bottle cases

Printable Fact Sheet: [PDF] [WORD]

THE VINEYARD: This, the fourth vintage of S.P. Drummer wines, is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (60%) and Cabernet Franc (40%) from the Blair Vineyard located between St. Helena and Calistoga on the Silverado Trial in Napa Valley. For nearly 20 years, grapes from this vineyard have been used in the making of premium wines such as Stags Leap, Caymus, T-Vine, Duckhorn, and Rombauer. The vineyard site, bordered by the Silverado Trail, Larkmead Lane, and Selby Creek is characterized by alluvial deposit soils. A combination of attentive winegrowing, excellent soil drainage, hot days, cold nights, provide a microclimate yielding fruit of the highest quality from this vineyard.

THE WINE: The 2002 harvest, with moderate temperature extremes during the ripening period, provided a growing season that yielded wines with full ripeness and well developed, finely balanced tannins. Cabernet Sauvignon grown on rocky sites such as the Blair Vineyard produce small berries with sweet tannins, which are important for mouth structure. The Cabernet Franc is reminiscent of exotic black flowers and has an incredible density of flavor, almost atypical for the variety. It is arguably one of the top two or three sites for Cabernet Franc in North America. The wines were fermented in open-topped tanks using punched down techniques, and aged in a high percentage of new French oak barrels.

Alcohol:	13.9%
Total Acid:	5.7 g/L
pH:	3.67
Total cases:	940 6-bottle cases produced 94 3-bottle 1.5L cases

Printable Fact Sheet: [PDF] [WORD]

THE VINEYARDS:
50% Sonoma Carneros Merlot Sangiacomo Vineyards
40% Sonoma Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
10% Napa Valley Cabernet Franc Blair Estate Vineyards

The Sangiacomo Merlot comes from a vineyard on the southwestern edge of Sonoma Carneros on a rocky, wind blown site. Utilizing Bordeaux clone 181, which produce limited yields of small clusters and tiny berries, this site provides the core fruit and character of this merlot-based blend. The Blair Vineyard Cabernet Franc gives seductive black floral aromas and palate entry richness. The Sonoma Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, from fully mature eighteen year-old vines located in a warmer area of Sonoma Valley near Glen Ellen, provides tannic structure and fruit density.

THE WINE: This is the second vintage of Sonoma Valley blends from S.P. Drummer. The goal is to create a blend of Sonoma Valley wines based on cool climate Merlot with the aromatic component of Blair Cabernet Franc and textural components of Cabernet Sauvignon. This blend is atypical of California Bordeaux blends because merlot, not Cabernet, is the core. The aromatics are intense with notes of ripe black plums, the palette’s core tastes of black stone fruits, especially like Santa Rosa plums, with balanced acidity and mouth-coating tannins. The three vineyards were fermented separately in open top tanks and aged in a high percentage of new French Oak.

Alcohol:	13.9%
Total Acid:	5.8 g/L
pH:	3.72
Total cases:	880 6-bottle cases produced 100 3-bottle 1.5L cases

The Vineyard: This, the third vintage of S.P. Drummer wines, is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (60%) and Cabernet Franc (40%) from the Blair Vineyard located between St. Helena and Calistoga on the Silverado Trial in Napa Valley. For nearly 20 years, grapes from this vineyard have been used in the making of premium wines such as Stags Leap, Caymus, T-Vine, Duckhorn, and Rombauer. The vineyard site, bordered by the Silverado Trail, Larkmead Lane, and Selby Creek is characterized by alluvial deposit soils. A combination of attentive winegrowing, excellent soil drainage, hot days, cold nights, provide a microclimate yielding fruit of the highest quality from this vineyard.

The Wine: The 2001 harvest, with moderate temperature extremes during the ripening period, provided a long growing season that yielded full ripeness and developed tannins. “Cabernet Sauvignon grown on rocky sites such as the Blair Vineyard produce small berries with “chalky” tannins, which are important for mouth structure. This particular Cabernet Franc is reminiscent of exotic black flowers and has an incredible density of flavor, almost atypical for the variety. I believe it is one of the top two or three sites for Cabernet Franc in North America” The wines were fermented in open-topped tanks using punched down techniques and aged in a high percentage of new French oak barrels.

Alcohol:	13.9%
Total Acid:	6.1 g/L
pH:	3.71
Total cases:	850 6-bottle cases produced

The Vineyards:
60% Sonoma Carneros Merlot Sangiacomo Vineyards
20% Napa Valley Cabernet Franc Blair Estate Vineyards
20% Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon

The Sangiacomo Merlot comes from a vineyard on the southwestern edge of Sonoma Carneros on a rocky, wind blown site. Utilizing Bordeaux clone 181, which produce limited yields of small clusters and tiny berries, this site produces the core fruit and character of this merlot based blend. The Blair Vineyard Cabernet Franc gives seductive black floral aromas and palate entry richness. This wine is a large percentage of the Napa Valley S.P. Drummer 2001 bottling. The Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon being fully mature at fifteen years, is located on the southwestern edge of the Napa Valley.

The Wine: This is the inaugural Sonoma Valley blend from S.P. Drummer. Scott describes his motivation, “I wanted to create a blend from Sonoma based on cool climate Merlot with the aromatic component of Blair Cabernet Franc and textural components of mountain Cabernet Sauvignon. This blend is atypical of California Bordeaux blends because merlot, not Cabernet, is the core.” The aromatics are intense with notes of ripe black plums, the palette's core tastes of black stone fruits, especially like Santa Rosa plums, with balanced acidity and mouth-coating tannins. The three vineyards were fermented separately in open top tanks and aged in a high percentage of new French Oak.

Alcohol:	13.7%
Total Acid:	6.0 g/L
pH:	3.65
Total cases:	480 6-bottle cases produced