Showket Vineyard Kal Cuvee Merlot
⏳ Drinking Window
Typically best enjoyed 8–20 years from vintage release.
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
roasted duck, grilled ribeye steak, braised lamb shanks
✨ Technical Specifications
Sourced from the legendary Showket Vineyard, nestled on the eastern hillsides of Oakville adjacent to Dalla Valle, this cuvée is a monument to Napa Valley history. Planted by Kal and Tony Showket on iron-rich, red volcanic soils, the vineyard became famous for producing exceptionally plush, intense fruit. Winemaker Russell Bevan crafted the 'Kal Cuvee' as a tribute to Kal Showket, selecting the finest blocks of the vineyard to showcase a wine of immense concentration, velvety texture, and complex aromatics. Since the vineyard was acquired by Peter Michael Winery in 2009, these early Bevan Cellars bottlings have become highly coveted collector's items, representing a golden era of Oakville grape growing defined by opulent fruit, seamless tannins, and remarkable depth.
🍾 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
Merlot