Description
2016 Napa Valley Estate Élu
St. Supéry Estate Vineyards and Winery is a 100% Estate Grown, sustainably farmed winery committed to producing the highest quality estate wines without compromise. Élu, meaning “chosen” or “elected” in French evolved from St. Supéry Winemaker, Michael Scholz and renowned Winemaker, Michel Rolland’s desire to craft a red wine blend each year that is a seamless and elegant reflection of our two properties. This is a wine of great density, yet a sense of charm.
Winemaker’s Notes This elegant red blend is structured with length and a graceful, fine grain of tannin. Vibrant and deep reds and purples introduce Élu, with aromas of black plum and juicy blackberry. The fragrances of anise, graphite, dark cocoa, espresso and toasted barrel add extra depth and richness. Flavors of black plum and youthful blackberry are complemented with a hint of cassis, together with notes of espresso, black pepper and black licorice.
V i n t a g e 2 0 1 6 2016 saw a near-perfect growing season. A warm spring jumpstarted bud break and an ideal June and July followed with moderate daytime temperatures and cool nights. August was cooler allowing for an even and steady growing season which encouraged the fruit to ripen uniformly under slow, steady conditions. At St. Supéry, we grow all of our own grapes, so we can make the best farming decisions possible in our vineyards. Red grapes harvest kicked off on September 15th, 2016. Yields are as expected and the quality of the fruit is exceptional.
The fruit was hand harvested in the cool morning hours and brought to the winery in half ton bins. At the winery, the clusters were sorted using a double sorting system. First, the clusters were sorted by hand. The fruit then ran through a small destemmer that removed stems from the grapes prior to the individual berries being sorted to ensure that the most ideal grapes were chosen. These berries were delivered to a fermenter where there was a period of resting on skins. Warm fermentation temperatures were encouraged along with gentle cap maceration to achieve the desired color and structure for the wine before an extended maceration time on skins prior to final pressing. The wine was transferred directly to barrel for 19 months of maturation. Forty percent of the sorted berries used in this blend were fermented in French Oak barrels to add layers of complexity to the wine. After fermentation, the wine remained in those same barrels for aging.
APPELLATION: Napa Valley
VINEYARD: Rutherford Estate Vineyard Dollarhide Estate Vineyard
VARIETY/BLEND: 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 4% Malbec, 2% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot
OAK MATURATION: 100% French oak (48% new French oak) for 19 months
