Winemaker Notes
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.
A decade later, Francis Ford Coppola purchased 1,500 acres of this historic property and revived Captain Niebaum's fine winemaking tradition. In 1995, Niebaum-Coppola acquired the remainder of the property and restored the Inglenook Estate to its original dimensions.
Covering the most vine acreage in the state compared to any other red wine variety, Cabernet Sauvignon produces as much wine in California as Merlot and Pinot Noir combined. The state’s diverse terrain and microclimates, as well as the freedom of its winemakers, allow for an incredible range of wine styles from this single grape.
California’s most famous region—and especially for Cabernet Sauvignon—is the acclaimed Napa Valley. While Cabernet is successful throughout the world, rarely has it achieved such merit as it does from the Napa Valley. At this point the two are so intrinsically linked that it is difficult to discuss one without the other.
Napa’s closest neighbor, Sonoma County, does an impressive job keeping up with Napa’s fame and glory. Alexander Valley, Sonoma Mountain, Moon Mountain and Knights Valley contribute to the lot of some of California’s top-rated Cabernet Sauvignon.
Lake County in California’s North Coast has become a focus for some of Napa’s more respected growers. From the Central Coast come iconic examples of classic California Cabernet; Lodi and the Sierra Foothills are great budget-friendly sources of amicable Cabernets.