Nestled 1,000 feet up in the hills above Napa Valley, is an extraordinary 3.5-acre plot of land known as the Leaky Lake Vineyard. Framed by a small but picturesque lake, this vineyard has been producing some of the finest Cabernet Sauvignon grapes the Napa Valley has to offer. So fine, in fact, that Cultivar Wine has sourced this vineyard exclusively for the past decade for our only single-vineyard designate wine: The Cultivar Wine Leaky Lake Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley.

What makes this vineyard so special? Like most of the terroir in Napa Valley, it’s a combination of the soil, the weather, and even the people.

Leaky Lake Vineyard Terroir

To say that the Leaky Lake Vineyard produces “mountain fruit” would be an understatement. It takes a long trip up a winding, mountain road—often with just one lane—just to reach the vineyard. Once there, you’re greeted by 3.5 acres of slopes, swales, and hills, all covered with gorgeous Cabernet Sauvignon fruit.

The soil is a rugged mix of clay loam and iron deposits, a direct result of the tectonic forces that created the Mayacamas Mountain range. Part of the plot faces directly west, which means it gets direct sunlight for a good portion of the day. The north-facing portion of the vineyard is subject to the cool winds that blow across the mountaintop at night.

Farming Cabernet Sauvignon at The Leaky Lake Vineyard

Leaky Lake was originally planted decades ago. It’s a small vineyard that’s just up the hill from Caspar Estate.

Cultivar Wine has been farming this land since 2007, when we replanted the vineyard with Cabernet Sauvignon from clone 191 and 337, which is known for good set along with small berry and cluster size. This clone was grafted to rootstock 101-14, which thrives in rocky conditions where water can be scarce. We have been using purely organic farming methods and techniques from the very beginning. The result is bold, powerful, and concentrated fruit, grown in a way that’s uniquely Cultivar. It’s the perfect fruit for Cabernet lovers who appreciate a sense of terroir and want to experience the development of a wine as it ages. And in order to bring out that quality the best we can, we turned to an expert winemaker.

Julien Fayard Brings Bordeaux Finesse to Napa

You may already know that Julien Fayard, one of the most renowned winemakers in Napa Valley, is the genius behind our Caspar Estate wines. But when Julien got a look at the Leaky Lake Vineyard and sampled the unique fruit we grow there, he wanted to be a part of the project.

“The cabernet we grow there is extraordinary,” Fayard says. “I saw it rivals any of the mountain appellations in Napa—Howell Mountain or Diamond Peak—for boldness and character.”

Fayard presses whole clusters of fruit for Cultivar’s Leaky Lake Cabernet Sauvignon. He then transfers to 100% French oak for at least 24 months before bottling. “Even then, it’s good to allow the wine to develop in the bottle for another two years, just to bring out the aromatics,” Fayard says.

This is one reason why the 2016 Leaky Lake Cabernet is our newest release. And at a mere 90 cases, it’s one of our most limited releases as well.

Cabernet For Summer? Definitely Yes

You typically don’t think about lush, opulent Cabernets when it comes to summertime wines. But you should! Our idea of a great summer weekend is rib eyes and roasted vegetables on the grill. If you’re the same, then you need a powerful Cabernet Sauvignon to complement that.

In fact, we typically release our Leaky Lake Cabernet just in time for summer, because that’s when grilling season reaches its peak. “Seared meats are especially wonderful with this wine,” says Fayard.

The Leaky Lake Vineyard is one of those small-lot vineyards that make Napa so special. It has its own unique character—a character that we have had a hand in creating. It’s no wonder why Cultivar Wine has been using this vineyard exclusively to produce our only vineyard-designate wine. We invite you to try the Leaky Lake Cabernet Sauvignon and taste for yourself!

Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc is one of the most iconic wines you can find. It’s no surprise it’s the 8th most popular varietal in the world. Moreover, it’s one of the Top 5 wines to come out of Napa Valley. It’s also one of the five designated white varietals of Bordeaux. Bordeaux is the region in France that some say most closely mirrors the terroir of Napa. And yes, Sauvignon Blanc can be as popular—and expensive—as its red-based Bordeaux brother. A bottle of Chateau Haut-Brion Blanc can easily fetch up to $1,000.

This begs the question: who does it better? Is Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc closest to the true expression of the varietal? Or does the French style take that honor? At Cultivar Wine and Caspar Estate, we’re huge fans of this light, crisp, grassy-yet-tropical wine, and the “who does it best” question is one we take seriously.

Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc From Above The Rutherford Hills

Caspar Estate is our 13-acre vineyard located in the hills above the Rutherford appellation in Napa Valley. Planted 600 feet above the fog line with an exposure 20 degrees off north, the vineyard sees sun from early morning until late afternoon. This ensures even ripeness of the grapes. Furthermore, cool nights help to develop firm tannins and fresh acidity creating remarkable structure and balance in the finished wines. Our rocky serpentine soils benefit from a mineral deposit rich in iron and magnesium. This distinctive mineral deposit provides layers of complexity and flavor to wines unique to our site.

Our House Block North is where we planted just one acre of Sauvignon Blanc back in 2015. That’s right, just one acre, which yields enough grapes to make around 90 cases of our Estate Sauvignon Blanc. We could have planted more acreage, but the soil, sun exposure, and drainage of this one block were better suited for SB than the other blocks. As a family vineyard, we aim to listen to what the land has to tell us.

We also trust our winemaker to best utilize what the land has to offer—and we’ve got one of the best winemakers in the business.

Winemaker Julien Fayard: Caspar Estate’s Ace In The Hole

With such a small yield of grapes from one acre of Sauvignon Blanc, it’s important that our winemaker is absolutely top-notch. That’s why we enlisted Julien Fayard, one of the most respected winemakers in Napa Valley. We also chose Julien because of his Bordeaux roots.

Julien Fayard gained his knowledge and defined his core winemaking style by working at grand Chateaux in France such as Lafite Rothschild and Smith Haut Laffite. Julien worked alongside renowned winemaker Philippe Melka here in Napa, which helped to hone his skills. His philosophy is to produce wines that express pure, terroir-driven specificities and characteristics. He believes that as a winemaker, one doesn’t control the wine but rather wine style is the result of a combination of soil, climate, and vineyard management.

“As a winemaker, my job is to bring out the best qualities that the vines have provided,” says Fayard. “I don’t seek to make a style of wine but more so to make wine that sings of its place, its history, and its uniqueness. That’s my goal as a winemaker, to make wines that are pure expressions of their environment and not mask it. Wines with an identity.”

This identity is truly expressed in the recent release of the 2020 Caspar Estate Sauvignon Blanc. Available exclusively to our allocation members, Our new release of Estate Sauvignon Blanc greets the nose with Herbes de Provence, fresh-cut grass, and tangy kiwi, while the steel-tank fermentation brings forward classic notes of grapefruit, flint, and wet gravel. A touch of new oak creates a lush, tropical fruit creaminess on the finish.

Attend a Free Virtual Wine Tasting with Julien Fayard On June 8th, 2021

Want to learn more? Caspar Estate is proud to present a Virtual Wine Tasting with Julien Fayard on June 8th at 4PM EST. Hosted by Caspar Estate’s Hospitality Manager Deborah Evans, you’ll get an opportunity to learn more about Julien’s thoughts on winemaking and the unique terroir of Caspar Estate. Sign-up is free, even if you’re not currently an allocation member.

Cultivar Wine Brings Value To Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc

Our love for Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc doesn’t stop with our Estate wines. Each year, Cultivar Wine produces a Sauvignon Blanc just in time for spring and summer. This wine is sourced from some of our favorite vineyard plots from around the valley. We believe it’s a delicious reflection of small-lot production in Napa—a kind of “mirror” into the vintage. The 2020 Cultivar Wine Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc is no exception to this. The 2020 season will be remembered as historic. In Napa, a warm, dry winter didn’t give way to rain and cold weather until the end of March. The mild spring season gave us a great early start, while summer brought very cool mornings and very warm days. While the 2020 Napa Valley harvest proved to have its challenges, it is not without the hints of brilliance that define this magical area.

Sunshine and a warm, golden-straw color jump from the glass, while the heady scent of Meyer lemon, orange blossom, and pineapple swirl in unison. Each sip reveals lux layers of tropical fruit, green apple, and key lime. The creamy texture and surprisingly long finish will leave you wanting more. Cook up some Cioppino, order some dim-sum, or get some sushi to go, and pair with this wine with friends. And at only $21 a bottle for Cultivar Wine Club Members, it’s one of the best values you will find for Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc.

So, in which terroir does Sauvignon Blanc find its best expression? Is it Napa Valley, Bordeaux, or some other region? Sure, we have our bias for Napa Valley (and some honest claims to back it up!), but perhaps the best way to find out is this: taste the wines yourself and decide! The journey is half the fun.

Is there an “official” start to Rosé Season? Rosé is made from the runoff juice of the first pressing of grapes harvested between September and October. Therefore, most wineries are ready to release their rosé between March and April. Though releases can continue into the summer—also the peak time for rosé drinking—rosé rarely requires more than four or five months before bottling.

Such is the case for the 2020 Cultivar Wine Napa Valley Rosé, which we bottled on April 1st. Our new rosé came out looking like springtime in a glass. On the nose, you’re greeted with floral aromas of dried roses, peonies, wild strawberry, and pink grapefruit. Crisp, dry flavors of tangy orange, watermelon, and a lingering savory herb finish give this wine an amazing character. Rosé season is here, and it’s time to celebrate!

Bottling The Cultivar Wine Napa Valley Rosé

Before Rosé Season can kick-off, we have to bottle it first! If you’ve never had the chance to watch the bottling process, it’s really something to behold. Since the wine is stored in giant steel tanks (some of which have a capacity of several hundred gallons), the wine doesn’t go to the bottling line: the bottling line comes to the wine.

Here you can see the trailer that houses the entire mobile bottling facility. The trailer is backed up to the winery, where hoses are run from the tanks inside. The pallets in the foreground are stacked with cases containing empty bottles. These bottles are placed on a conveyor belt, and the machines inside the trailer do the rest.

The bottles are blown clean with compressed air, then filled with wine, corked, capsuled, and labeled. Once finished, the bottles are loaded by hand back into their cases and pushed down a ramp to the loading dock. There, the cases are stacked back onto pallets and ready for transport.

Rosé Season Starts In The Vineyard

Julien Fayard, whose winemaking craftsmanship was recently featured in the Robb Report, created our Napa Valley Rosé from select lots of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Winemakers are skilled at taking Mother Nature’s interruptions in stride, and 2020 certainly had a few twists and turns. Julien Fayard’s genius is apparent with every sip of this rosé, which strikes a perfect balance between subtlety of style and signature Napa Valley boldness.

Julien Fayard (left) with Gingy Gable (center) and the bottling crew

Each year, when we release our new Cultivar Wine Oakville Chardonnay, it means spring has come to Napa Valley. Winter is finally behind us. The vines have woken from their long slumber and are showing the first signs of bud break. The mustard plants burst with sunlight-yellow flowers between the rows of the vineyards. The days are longer, the sunsets more intense. Spring is also when warm breezes hit the cool waters of San Pablo Bay to create the signature fog of northern California.

Though there are over 50 wineries in the Oakville AVA, only a handful of them produce chardonnay. Oakville is typically best known for its cabernet sauvignon. Nonetheless, we keep returning to this magical piece of Napa Valley terroir for our chardonnay year after year.

Why? Because a river runs through it.

Bud Break at Caspar Estate in Napa

The Oakville Secret: An Ancient Riverbed

Or at least, a river ran through it. Oakville lies directly atop the ancient riverbed that helped form the Napa Valley. The soil of the Oakville AVA is the result of sedimentary deposits from the mountains that surround the valley. The soil is gravelly and sandy, with exceptionally good drainage. The portion of the AVA between Route 29 and the Silverado Trail is a mix of clay and well-drained sandy loam.

This ancient riverbed soil gives our Oakville chardonnay a signature minerality and salinity. We love this flavor profile in our chardonnay, as it adds a crispness and acidity to the wine that isn’t always typical to Napa chardonnay. But to us, it says “springtime.”

Mother Nature Makes the Grapes, Julien Fayard Makes The Wine

A couple of tons of amazing grapes is only the beginning. It takes a winemaker of experience, skill, and craftsmanship to coax the right flavors out of those grapes. At Cultivar Wine, we’re fortunate to have a Napa legend in the making, Julien Fayard, as our winemaker. Originally from Provence, Julien produces varietals from some of the best wine appellations with French finesse. Formerly of Chateau Lafite Rothschild, he brings over two decades of winemaking expertise to Cultivar Wine.

Recently, Julien’s winemaking prowess caught the attention of The Robb Report, the world’s preeminent magazine on luxury living. You can find their feature story on him here.

Mother’s Day, Easter, and Oakville Chardonnay

Spring is a season of rebirth and renewal. We not only celebrate Easter with the coming of spring, but one of our personal favorite holidays: Mother’s Day! If you’re planning an Easter dinner, or a Mother’s Day celebration, nothing quite pairs with a variety of dishes than our 2019 Oakville Chardonnay. The bright acid and lush flavors make it perfect for lunch, brunch, dinner, or just hanging out and sipping during a warm spring or summer afternoon. Cheers!

Though all of Napa is known for its Cabernet magic, Oakville is one of those special sub-appellations where Cabernet is something really special. When we searched for Cabernet Sauvignon for our 2018 releases, we knew we wanted fruit sourced from this unique appellation. Not just for what happened in the region during the 2018 growing season, but because of a reputation cultivated throughout the decades.

And we’re not the only ones looking for that magic. Oakville is home to the legendary Robert Mondavi Winery. There’s also, Far Niente, Cardinale, and even the iconic Opus One. The truth is, Oakville is home to some of the most iconic Cabernet Sauvignon produced in Napa Valley. Let’s take a look at why this region creates some of the most sought-after terroir wines in California, and how Cultivar Wine’s 2018 Oakville Cabernet sits alongside some prestigious names.

Where Is Oakville?

Oakville sits right in the center of Napa Valley. It covers a two-square-mile swath of the valley floor and then slopes up another 500 feet into Mayacamas bench and 1,000 feet up the Vaca Mountains to the east.

Map courtesy of the Oakville Winegrowers

There are three types of soils that define the Oakville appellation. The breakdown of the various bedrock plates creates residual soils in the hills. Along the margins of the valley, distinct alluvial soils form on the fans composed of material washed down from the adjoining hills during torrential rain events. Along the axial part of the valley where the Napa River flows are fluvial soils, finer-grained loam coming from upstream locations and deposited from floodwaters.

Oakville’s History of Cabernet

General Mariano Vallejo awarded Napa founding father George Yount a nearly 12,000-acre land grant in 1836, which extended all the way into what is now Oakville. Yount then became the first man to plant grapes in Napa Valley, in what would later be his namesake appellation, Yountville. In 1877, Charles Hopper planted grapes on a section of the northern area of the land grant that he had purchased for his daughter, Missouri. Today, the Beckstoffer family owns the Missouri Hopper Vineyard. It is one of the most sought-after vineyards in the valley. Another Oakville vineyard with a world-famous reputation is To Kalon. Hamilton Crabb plated the vineyard in 1868, and Robert Mondavi purchased the site a century later for his winery. As you can see, Oakville Cabernet has a long and rich history.

The 2018 Growing Season in Oakville

February saw abundant rains in 2018, followed by lots of filtered light in spring and early summer. Both bud break and flowering occurred a bit late, but under ideal weather conditions, creating plentiful and even fruit set. Summer brought generous sun during the day and cooler marine influences, virtually uninterrupted by major heat spikes. The relatively mild summer followed by extended fall sunshine and moderate heat created near-ideal growing conditions. This allowed winemakers to let their fruit accumulate flavor complexity with gradual increases in sugar levels. Harvest levels were up 20-30% over average crop quantity.

Oakville: The Source of Cultivar Wine’s 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon

Is it any wonder that we sourced our 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon from this incredible wine-growing region? As with all of our fruit sources, we have built relationships with regional growers, and Oakville is one of our favorites. We source fruit from a family-run vineyard located directly on the valley floor. They have a long legacy in Oakville and produce only 1,000 cases on their own. Lucky winemakers like us get the rest of the fruit. That said, we only got our hands on enough to make about 80 cases.

Our delicious Cabernet expresses both the characteristics of the 2018 Oakville vintage and the personality of its valley floor location. The dark purple color is surrounded by a gorgeous garnet ring, reflecting the 100% Cabernet fruit inside. Surprising yet delightful fragrances of earth, moss, mushroom, and bacon delight the nose. The flavor profile is signature Cabernet.

The palate is lush with plum, blackberries, clove, and fresh herbs. The finish is balanced with medium intensity, offering a plush, richness that reveals real maturity for the 2018 vintage. Enjoy with a classic juicy burger, or a Pt. Reyes blue cheese burger, Osso Bucco, cioppino or even Chicken Cacciatore.

But act fast! The 2018 Cultivar Oakville Cabernet is going fast. Click here to order!