Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Kale's 2021 McGah Vineyard Heritage showcases the value that exists in Napa for consumers willing to reach beyond Cabernet Sauvignon and its kin. A blend of 80% Grenache and 20% Mourvèdre, this offers up gently perfumed scents of strawberries, rose petals and ground cardamom on the nose, while being full-bodied but delicate, marked by fine-grained tannins that capture Grenache's silky nature. Long and vibrant on the finish, it's a beauty that should drink well for up to a decade.
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James Suckling
A full-bodied, spicy and oaky wine with broad sandy tannins in the texture. Quite powerful and robust in terms of toasted oak, wood char, black pepper and grilled meat flavors over subdued dark fruit. A blend of 80% grenache and 20% mourvedre grapes, which are pretty rare in Napa Valley.
Grenache thrives in any warm, Mediterranean climate where ample sunlight allows its clusters to achieve full phenolic ripeness. While Grenache's birthplace is Spain (there called Garnacha), today it is more recognized as the key player in the red blends of the Southern Rhône, namely Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Côtes du Rhône and its villages. Somm Secret—The Italian island of Sardinia produces bold, rustic, single varietal Grenache (there called Cannonau). California, Washington and Australia have achieved found success with Grenache, both flying solo and in blends.
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.