Saunders Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
⏳ Drinking Window
Typically best enjoyed 5–20 years from the vintage release.
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Grilled ribeye steak, roasted rack of lamb, braised beef short ribs
✨ Technical Specifications
The Saunders Vineyard is nestled on the eastern hillside of Napa Valley's famed Oakville AVA, situated on a gentle slope just below the renowned Dalla Valle estate. This prime location features iron-rich, red volcanic soils that impart a distinctive mineral complexity and robust structure to the grapes. Winemaker Russell Bevan utilizes this exceptional fruit to craft a Cabernet Sauvignon of immense power, depth, and velvety texture. Known for his uncompromising approach to sorting and his preference for harvesting at peak physiological ripeness, Bevan coaxes out opulent layers of blackberry, cassis, and graphite. The wine represents a harmonious marriage of Oakville's legendary terroir and Bevan's signature plush, decadent winemaking style, making it a benchmark representation of modern Napa Valley luxury.
🍾 About the Producer
Bevan Cellars was founded in 2005 by self-taught winemaker Russell Bevan, quickly ascending to cult status within California's fine wine landscape. Celebrated for an unabashedly opulent, hedonistic, and precision-driven winemaking style, Bevan partners with premier growers across premier microclimates in Napa Valley and Sonoma County. Sourcing spans esteemed terroirs such as eastern Oakville's red volcanic and alluvial soils at Tench Vineyard, the rocky slopes of Sugarloaf Mountain, and cool maritime sites in the Russian River Valley and Petaluma Gap. Viticulture emphasizes meticulous canopy control and sustainable vineyard management, harvesting fruit at optimal physiological ripeness. In the cellar, Bevan employs minimal intervention, indigenous fermentations, squeaky-clean sorting regimens, and customized French oak aging. Benchmark bottlings include his single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignons such as Tench Vineyard and Sugarloaf Mountain, proprietary red blends like Ontogeny and EE, alongside textural, vibrant Sonoma Coast Chardonnays and Ritchie Vineyard expressions.
🍇 Grapes
Cabernet Sauvignon