Beaulieu Vineyard

2017 Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

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2017 Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
Beaulieu Vineyard

2017 Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

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750mL

The 2017 Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is ripe, fruit-forward and voluptuous, with brawny dark fruit aromas of blackberry, dark plum and black currant. Hints of delicate violet and black pepper spice also support the lush fruit, showcasing the depth, concentration, and balance of this extraordinary Cabernet. Full-bodied with breadth and weight, the rich palate is supported by robust flavors of blackberry, cassis, dark plum, mocha and molasses. Notes of vanilla, caramel and baking spice are well-integrated, a tribute to aging in new French oak barrels. The fruit is supported by signature “Rutherford Dust” tannins, adding a round, cocoa-powder texture, supple length and firm presence to the lingering finish. The ever-expansive palate, while seamlessly integrating with the full-bodied texture, crafts a wine that shows nuance, intrigue and approachability now, but with layers of complexity and structure that will allow the wine to age for years to come.
96 pts
“Showcasing the deep slashes of liquorice that you find in Cabernet from Napa, this is layered with concentrated cassis. A more generously spiced, ripe, juicy and pure version than you often find in the savoury, menthol-laced Cabernet of Bordeaux. This is confident and has years of pleasure ahead of it for anyone who owns it.”
Jane Anson, Decanter
97 pts
#75 in Top 100 Wines of 2020! “This is one of the most balanced Georges de Latour, offering currants, minerals, fresh herbs and spices. It’s full-bodied with very fine tannins. Long and focused. Subtle and complex. Very elegant and refined in the end. Reminds me of classic, old vintages from the 1960s and 1970s. Drink or hold.”
James Suckling

Technical info

Alcohol 14.7%
Varietal Cabernet Sauvignon
Blend 97% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Petit Verdot
Appellation Napa Valley
Oak treatment Aged 22 months in French oak (95% new barrels)

Winemaking

At our state-of-the-art winery, dedicated exclusively to the crafting of the Georges de Latour Cabernet Sauvignon, the wine is fermented in roughly 50% new French oak barrels which provides early integration and enhances the dense, rich texture. The balance of the must was fermented in stainless steel and concrete fermenters which preserves the freshness of the fruit. Following judicious extended skin contact and in-barrel malolactic fermentation, the wine was pressed and returned to barrels for aging. A small amount of Petit Verdot was blended with the Cabernet Sauvignon to further enhance the wine's aroma and flavor profile. With the 2016 vintage, we took more care in selecting the barrels chosen specifically for crafting Georges de Latour. We narrowed down our barrel coopers to the top 10 premium barrels to craft a Cabernet with incredible structure without any of the harsh grippy, astringent tannins that are sometimes associated with Napa Cabernet. This barrel regime is very important to the elevated quality of our Georges de Latour Private Reserve.
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Vintage

The 2017 vintage in the Napa Valley was smaller yielding but high in quality. The region enjoyed much needed rain during the winter months ending the drought. A short period of warmer than usual temperatures during Labor Day weekend accelerated harvest for early ripening grapes varieties, resulting in an intense and, at times, unpredictable harvest. Though yields were lower than usual, the wines show exceptional flavor intensity and growing conditions were perfect for producing a wine with beautiful fruit and tremendous concentration of flavors, highly saturated color, and plenty of complexity.

Vineyard

We hand selected grapes from the finest Cabernet Sauvignon vines from the western bench of the Rutherford AVA in
our iconic BV Ranches No. 1 and No. 2, originally planted by Georges de Latour in the early 1900s. We focused on
clonal selections (6, 4, 169, 5197, 7 and 8), which yield small berries with the high skin-to-juice ratio needed to make
intense, long-lived wines. The fruit was handpicked and optically sorted once it arrived to the winery in order to ensure
the highest quality selection. These specifically chosen vines are deeply rooted in the well-draining alluvial fan soils of
Rutherford, considered one of the finest regions in the Napa Valley for Cabernet Sauvignon.

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