Winemaker Notes
The 2016 M. Etain, hailing from a nearly perfect growing season, shows abundant Rutherford-esque aromas of dusty berries, dried cherries, sage, and a hint of mocha, as well as warm undertones of vanilla and cedar. On the palate, the wine displays a texture of crushed velvet, with bright red-fruit tones and a solid backbone, and a finish of violet-scented blueberries and warm blackberries.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Both of these Scarecrow releases from winemaker Celia Welch are truly gorgeous wines that I wish every reader could taste. Starting with the 2016 M. Etain, which is from a vintage compared to 1997 by Welch, it has a real Scarecrow vibe in its elegance and finesse as well as its fabulous bouquet of forest floor, leafy herbs, cassis, and floral nuances. With medium to full body, an endearing charm and accessibility, perfect balance, and a great finish, it’s a world-class wine in its own right and can be drunk today or cellared for two decades or more.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The M. Étain comes mainly from a dry-farmed block at the toe of the lower block of the Scarecrow vineyard. The fruit is usually selected to be a little chewier and more fruit forward than Scarecrow. A blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Petit Verdot, 6% Malbec and 3% Merlot, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon M. Étain is very deep purple-black in color and is a little youthfully mute to begin, opening out to reveal notes of crushed black and red currants, black cherries, warm plums and tilled black soil with hints of bay leaves, lavender, chargrill and unsmoked cigars plus a waft of pencil shavings. Full-bodied, rich, bold and seductive in the mouth, it has a firm frame of wonderfully ripe, fine-grained tannins and fantastic freshness lifting the red and black fruit layers with a long, earth-laced finish. 850 cases were made.
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Wine Spectator
Gently mulled red currant, plum and raspberry flavors show a nice fleshy feel, with a creamy edge and flecks of warm earth, sweet tobacco and roasted cedar hanging in the background. Best from 2020 through 2029.
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.