Villa Mt. Eden Grand Reserve Mead Ranch Zinfandel 2001
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2002-
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Robert
Parker
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Wine
Enthusiast
Under former winemaker, Mike McGrath’s, 25 years of leadership, Villa Mt. Eden earned five placements on Wine Spectator’s annual “Top 100” and many best value accolades. Villa Mt. Eden also moved production facilities up the road on the Silverado Trail. In 2009 McGrath’s longtime assistant winemaker Armando de Santiago took the helm as winemaker at Villa Mt. Eden, placing renewed focus on Villa’s enduring mission to showcase distinguished regions and vineyards of California. With his unique background in philosophy and naturopathy, as well as winemaking, Armando is in many ways a natural fit for Villa Mt. Eden. This modern day Renaissance man’s passion for crafting elegant wines with fruit intensity and a focus on place, is ideally suited to guiding this acclaimed winery into its next chapter.
Undoubtedly proving its merit over and over, Napa Valley is a now a leading force in the world of prestigious red wine regions. Though Cabernet Sauvignon dominates Napa Valley, other red varieties certainly thrive here. Important but often overlooked include Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties well-regarded on their own as well as for their blending capacities. Very old vine Zinfandel represents an important historical stronghold for the region and Pinot noir is produced in the cooler southern parts, close to the San Pablo Bay.
Perfectly situated running north to south, the valley acts as a corridor, pulling cool, moist air up from the San Pablo Bay in the evenings during the hot days of the growing season, which leads to even and slow grape ripening. Furthermore the valley claims over 100 soil variations including layers of volcanic, gravel, sand and silt—a combination excellent for world-class red wine production.