2015 BV Maestro Collection Beauzeaux Red Blend Napa Valley

Maestro Collection

2015 BV Maestro Collection Beauzeaux Red Blend Napa Valley

Vintage 2015

Wine Type Red

Varietal Red Blend

Region Napa Valley

Winemaker Jeffrey Stambor

Our pet project, Beauzeaux (pronounced: BOZO), began as a serendipitous blend that garnered a whimsical name from our passionate Beaulieu winemakers. The wine incorporates some of the team’s favorite varietals like Charbono, Petite Sirah and Touriga Nacional. These are varietals with deep history but are rarely planted and not easily found in today’s Napa Valley. In addition to these unexpected varieties, Zinfandel which gives the wine its core of spicy, boysenberry expression and Petite Sirah which adds deep color and layers of complex aromas and flavors are also included in the final blend. The huge, beautiful berry enhanced nose that opens the wine is the subtle (or not-so-subtle) reason for the playful name. The wine has a lush texture with matured, smooth, well-integrated tannins and the overall velvety nature makes it a crowd favorite.

Vineyard Notes

The interesting varietals in this wine come from grapes grown in the historic Beaulieu Vineyard Ranch 12 and Beaulieu Vineyard Ranch 11 vineyards. BV Ranch 12, located in Calistoga, experiences dramatic diurnal temperature swings with hot days and very cool evening. There is a wide range of soil types in this vineyard and its home to Beaulieu’s most diverse set of vine plantings including Touriga, Tempranillio, Charbono, Marsanne and many more. The Beaulieu Vineyard Ranch No. 11 vineyard is located in northern Napa Valley just south of Calistoga. The devotion to farming this historic vineyard gem is rewarded year after year with expressive and richly flavored grapes.

Vintage Notes

Good growing conditions throughout the season led vintage 2015 to come in early with very good quality across the board for whites and reds. A cooler than normal late spring during flowering kept yields down as did the effects from California’s continued drought. Despite this and a hot weather snap in early summer, the overall season was smooth and uneventful. Harvest started early and the grapes came into the winery with beautiful flavor development and concentrated color, resulting in excellent vintage 2015 wines.

Winemaking Notes

After hand harvesting, the grapes were immediately brought across the street into the winery. The grapes were destemmed and crushed and cold soaked for 2 to 4 days to gently ease color and flavor. During the 10 to 12-day fermentation, timely pump-overs kept the skins in contact with the juice for excellent flavor and tannin extraction. Each varietal is vinified and aged separately until final blending. The wine spent 22 months in 100% French oak barrels (45% new) giving the final blend softened tannins and toasty barrel notes.