Melanson Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
⏳ Drikkevindue
Typically best enjoyed 8–25 years from the vintage release, as its powerful mountain structure rewards patient cellaring.
🍽️ Mad & Vin-match
Prime ribeye steak, roasted rack of lamb, braised beef short ribs
✨ Tekniske specifikationer
Perched high on the rugged, boulder-strewn slopes of Pritchard Hill, the Melanson Vineyard is a masterclass in mountain viticulture. Sitting at an elevation of roughly 800 to 1,000 feet on the eastern side of Napa Valley, this vineyard features steep, iron-rich volcanic soils that force the vines to struggle for survival. Grower Greg Melanson has meticulously farmed this extreme terrain, where the intense sun exposure and cooling afternoon breezes from Lake Hennessey create a dramatic diurnal shift. This unique microclimate yields tiny, thick-skinned Cabernet Sauvignon berries of immense concentration and structural power. Under the guidance of winemaker Jeff Ames, TOR coaxes the essence of this formidable terroir using native yeast fermentations and aging in prime French oak barrels, bottling the wine unfined and unfiltered to preserve its raw mountain character, intense dark fruit, and signature crushed-rock minerality.
🍾 Om vinhuset / producenten
TOR Kenward Family Wines blev grundlagt i 2001 af Napa Valley-veteranen Tor Kenward og hans hustru Susan, og vinhuset udgør kulminationen på næsten et halvt århundredes dybe engagement i californisk vindyrkning. Efter 27 år hos Beringer, hvor han var med til at forme husets berømte Private Reserve-program, slog Kenward sig sammen med den talentfulde vinmager Jeff Ames for at skabe håndværksmæssige, terroir-drevne enkeltenkeltmarksvine. Druerne hentes udelukkende fra legendariske, bæredygtigt dyrkede parceller i Napa Valley og Carneros – heriblandt Beckstoffer To Kalon, Vine Hill Ranch, Dr. Crane, Hyde Vineyard og Durell Vineyard. Vinifikationen er præget af minimal indgriben med spontangæring på vildgær, naturlig malolaktisk gæring, parcellær fadlagring på fransk eg samt aftapning uden klaring eller filtrering. TORs prestigefyldte portefølje er forankret i kultforklarede Cabernet Sauvignon-vine og præcist skulpterede, mineralske Chardonnay-fortolkninger – særligt enkeltmarksvinene Durell Vineyard Cuvée Mimi, Torchiana Beresini Vineyard og Hyde Vineyard – foruden de ultra-eksklusive, begrænsede Bordeaux-blends Black Magic og Pure Magic.
🍇 Druer
Cabernet Sauvignon