Alcohol: 14.6%
Grape(s): 70% Cabernet, 20% Merlot, 10% Syrah
Localization: Napa Valley, California, USA
Tasting Notes: This blend is delicious! A chameleon for all of your sipping and dining pleasures! Inviting aromas of macerated bright red cherry, baking spice and vanilla. The entrance is richly layered with intense mixed berries, warm cedar, slate and hints of leather. Rich and mouth filling , ending on a velvety firm finish.
Dave McIntyre - Washington Post Review 3.5 Stars: Proprietary Red is a blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and syrah from vineyards in the northern end of Napa Valley near Calistoga. It is plush and mouth filling, with flavors of blackberries, currants and baking spice, and soft tannins to carry through to a long finish. I recommend keeping this wine cool and decanting it for an hour or two before serving with a hearty meat dish. Or stretch it over a couple evenings to see how it develops.
The Domain: Forty-five years ago, the Maldonado Family arrived in Napa and with four decades of grape growing experience, they produce small lots of exceptional wines. Led by their Los Olivos Chardonnay, they have expanded with several other wines, from their estate in Jameson Canyon, as well as from a few vineyards which they manage in the cooler micro climates of Sonoma County and Napa Valley. Hugo Maldonado and consulting winemaker, Jean Hoefilger, originally met at Newton, where the Maldonados still manage all the vineyards.
Maldonado’s Napa story begins when Lupe Maldonado came to the Napa Valley in 1962 at the age of 19 from the small farming community of Atacheo, in Michoacán, Mexico. Only 9 wineries who were producing wine commercially in 1962 are still in production today. There certainly was a much smaller pool of wineries who were hiring then versus today. Sterling Vineyards wasn’t even in existence yet – but it was at Sterling and Newton Vineyard where Lupe would spend 30 years of his wine career. When founder Peter Newton sold Sterling and decided to start Newton Vineyards it was Lupe who came with him and was instrumental in developing all their new vineyards. Son Hugo, a UC Davis graduate with a degree in Enology & Viticulture succeeded him in 1999 as Newton’s Vineyard Manager.
Land for either vineyards or winery use in the Napa Valley is at a premium and certainly not inexpensive. After locating and purchasing a 12 acre piece of property (came with an existing winery permit) just outside of Calistoga (off of the Old Lawley Toll Road), Hugo submitted his request to build a cave to several drilling companies. After seeing the rather pricey bids that came back he took matters into his own hands and decided to drill it out himself!
He spoke with a number of drilling company employees to find out more about the process and after securing all the necessary permits started digging. They hooked up a drilling wheel to a backhoe and started work. After a few days of making quick progress they thought it was going to be a surprisingly easy job. Not so – they ran into solid bedrock and it took 2-3 weeks just to excavate 1 foot deeper. The entire cave drilling/excavation took about 2 years and the final cave is about 3600 square feet. A fairly unique feature in Napa wine caves is their remarkably tall ceiling.
Today Maldonado Family operates their own vineyard management company – overseeing their own vineyards as well as select premium vineyards (mostly in Napa but some vineyards in Sonoma as well).
