Winemaker Notes
Blend: 55% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc, 18% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2012 Proprietary Red Blend The Tempest (55% Merlot from the Beckstoffer To-Kalon Vineyard, 22% Cabernet Franc from the Kenefick Vineyard, 18% Cabernet Sauvignon from Farella Vineyard and 5% Petit Verdot from the Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard) possesses a complex bouquet of licorice, barbecue smoke, incense, blueberries and black cherries infused with mocha and a whiff of freshly brewed coffee. With a beautiful texture, superb intensity, and an opulent, full-bodied style, it is a dramatic and ostentatious 2012 to drink over the next decade or more.
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.