Addendum Skellenger Lane Cabernet Sauvignon 2017
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Wine &
Spirits
Product Details
Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
There’s a warm, tannic rub to this wine, its rasp of thyme, rose petals and violets pumped up by alcohol, even as the flavors of dark, chocolate-covered cherries are substantial enough to enrich that warmth. Built for something meaty, like an herb-roasted leg of lamb.
Other Vintages
2018-
Jeb
Dunnuck -
James
Suckling
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Wilfred
Wong -
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Wine
Enthusiast
Addendum is a small, hands-on Napa winemaking endeavor from the seasoned Fess Parker family winemaking team. A standalone label, Addendum represents a unique opportunity for this well-established Santa Barbara County winery to make Bordeaux varietal wines, work side-by-side with committed Napa growers, and carry on the tradition of exploration and pioneering adventure embodied by Fess himself.
The Addendum approach to winemaking begins with curiosity and a profound respect for the rhythms of the vineyard. All vineyards chosen for the Addendum portfolio begin with a meticulous consideration of soil. It is the Addendum philosophy that few factors are more important in winemaking than the farming of appropriately matched varieties and soils. Addendum’s exceptional wines are crafted solely from top Napa sites that can reveal distinctive Cabernet characteristics.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
The Rutherford sub-region of Napa Valley centers on the town of Rutherford and covers some of Napa Valley’s finest vineyard real estate, spanning from the Mayacamas in the west, to the Vaca Mountains on the other side of the valley.
Inside of the Rutherford AVA, bordering the Mayacamas, is a stretch of uplands called the Rutherford Bench. (These bench lands technically run the length of Oakville as well). Mountain runoff creates deep, well-drained, alluvial soils on the bench, giving vine roots plenty of reason to permeate deep into the ground. The result is wine with great structure and complexity.
Rutherford Cabernet Sauvingons and Bordeaux Blends garner substantial attention for their enticing fragrances of dusty earth and dried herbs, broad and juicy mid-palates and lush and fine-grained tannins. The sub-appellation claims some of the valley’s most prized vineyards today, namely Caymus, Rubicon and Beckstoffer Georges III.
It is also home to Napa’s most influential and historic personalities. Thomas Rutherford, responsible for the appellation's name, made serious investments here in grape growing and wine production between the years of 1850 to 1880. Gustave Niebaum purchased a large swath of land and completed his winery in 1887, calling it “Inglenook.” Today this remains the oldest bonded winery in California. Georges Latour founded Beaulieu Vineyard in 1900, making it the oldest continuous winery in the state. Latour also hired the famous enologist, André Tchelistcheff, a man credited for single-handedly defining the modern Napa winemaking style.