winemaker's notes:
The 1999 Cask Cabernet has aromas of big red and black cherries, almost sweet, with engaging maple and vanilla notes from the American oak. The palate is full-bodied, very round and immediately rewarding with dense, racy red and blue fruits. The finish is almost viscous and obviously age-worthy, and most of all, delicious.
When Francis and Eleanor Coppola purchased the majority of the historic Niebaum Estate in 1975, they focused on producing one great wine, Rubicon, a Bordeaux-style red. Rubicon, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc, is aged exclusively in small French oak barrels. In 1995, the Coppolas re-united the Inglenook Estate by purchasing the front portion of the property and the Chateau. To pay homage to Inglenook and to John Daniel, the first vintage of Cask Cabernet was created in 1995. It celebrated the re-unification of the great estate and the people whose hard work and commitment built the legend.
Rutherford is the perfect place for production of Cabernet Sauvignon and the variety has a long and illustrious history on the land. The rich alluvial soils impart a fine character and produce wine with unique flavors that reveal a richness, structure and complexity, as distinctive as it is rare. The Niebaum clone of Cabernet was first planted on our estate in early 1882 and is credited with producing the legendary Inglenook Cask wines of the late 1940's, 50's and 60's.
