Winemaker Notes
The 2017 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is a beautiful and dense wine, with blue and black fruit aromas followed by savory notes of grilled herbs and sweet tobacco. Initially, notes of blueberry compote and baker’s chocolate give way to beautiful oak aromas of cedar and baking spice. On the palate bramble blackberries, red currants, and Chambord are met with flavors of black clove, vanilla, and graphite. This wine exhibits depth, nuance, and energy, and will be cellar-worthy for many, many years to come.
Blend: 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Malbec, 7% Petit Verdot
Critical Acclaim
All VintagesBarrel Sample: 94-97
Sinegal Estate is a family-owned Saint Helena based historic 30-acre property, originally known as the Inglewood Estate. Alton Williams acquired it in 1879 and planted the first vines here in 1881. Over the generations, the estate has passed through four separate families with the family being the fifth family, purchasing the property in 2013. The skeleton key on every label of Sinegal wines represents the importance of legacy and preserving the heritage of these families, as it is representative of the original key that was passed down to us when they acquired the estate.
Since 2013, Sinegal has been focused on integrating innovation and technology into their winemaking. The state-of-the-art winery ensures total precession - complete with a cutting-edge digital optical sorting machine, custom-built automated fermentation tanks, and a 6,800 square foot cave with temperature-controlled portals.
Wine is an immersive experience, it captures the story of the land told through the voice of the wine itself. Sinegal is committed to the relentless pursuit of quality, and where tradition meets innovation from the vineyard to the cellar. The stewardship of this historic property honors the legacy of the founding generations, celebrating the estate’s heritage of more than 139 years
St. Helena is in the heart of the Napa Valley, nestled between Calistoga to the north and Rutherford on its southern border. On its western side, the Mayacamas Mountains guard it from the cooling effects of the Pacific Ocean; to its east stand the Vaca Mountains. In conjunction, these mountain ranges serve to lock in summer daytime heat. But in the evening, cool air from the San Pablo Bay funnels up through the valley, creating very chilly nights. It isn’t uncommon for temperatures to drop 50 degrees, a shift that promotes a balance of sugar ripeness and acidity in wine grapes.
St. Helena contains a plethora of different soil types in a small area, which have been enhanced over centuries by rain runoff from both mountain ranges. Its vineyards cover a variety of terrain, spreading across the bucolic valley floor and its benchlands.
These ideal topographic and climatic growing conditions easily caught the attention of early winemaking pioneers. In fact, St. Helena is the birthplace of Napa Valley’s commercial wine industry. Dr. Crane founded his cellar in 1859, David Fulton in 1860 and Charles Krug in 1861.
Today there are no less than 400 separate vineyards planted within the 12,000 acres that make up the St. Helena appellation.
Revered most for its red wines based on Bordeaux varieties, namely Cabernet Sauvignon, the St. Helena appellation is also a source of superior Syrah, Zinfandel and Sauvignon blanc.
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.