Accendo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, California, 2019

Overview of the Wine
Bart and Daphne have always said their best wine has yet to be made.

This was their philosophy as the proprietors of Araujo Estate and stewards of the historic Eisele Vineyard, and it is their guiding principle today with Accendo Cellars, the Napa Valley winegrowing venture founded in 2013. Inspired by the revolutionary Napa Valley wines of the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s, Accendo pays homage to an earlier era and marks a beginning of a promising new paradigm: to source grapes from some of the finest vineyard sites and terroir in Napa Valley; to make a wine of balance and restraint in the style of Napa Valley’s past wines; and to produce this wine with the commitment, energy and meticulous attention to detail that have characterized their past efforts.

They are grateful to be joined by their daughter, Jaime Araujo Bézian, and son, Greg Araujo, as well as a small team of professionals they have worked with for many years, people who share their passion and, most importantly, their values. Applying what they know collectively about grape growing and winemaking, Bart and Daphne's aim is to create a world-class wine that expresses ecological diversity and focused stewardship.

For years Napa Valley has nurtured and humbled them in ways they could never have imagined. It is the hope that Accendo will shine a new light on this magical place they call home.

Grape / Blend
86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Cabernet Franc, 6% Petit Verdot

Origin
Napa Valley, California

Winemaker Tasting Notes
The dynamic aromas of this wine display gorgeous notes of rose, fennel, tar, graphite, earthy loam, dusty cocoa, and bay laurel; as the wine evolves in the glass, the aromas become even more floral and savory. In the mouth, big, bright flavors of this balanced, multi-layered wine enliven the palate, showing structure, density, freshness and nuanced power, and finishing with long, gravelly tannins.

98 Points - Vinous
Accendo's 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon is every bit as alluring as it was from barrel. Plush and sensual, with no hard edges, the 2019 possesses magnificent balance from start to finish. Dark-fleshed fruit, spice, leather, tobacco and menthol build as this sumptuous, racy Cabernet shows off its tremendous charm. Best of all, the 2019 offers quite a bit of immediacy. I would choose to drink it ahead of some of the more structured recent vintages. As always, the Accendo Cabernet is a blend of several top sites in Napa Valley.

98 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Sourced from six different Napa Valley vineyards and a blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Cabernet Franc and 6% Petit Verdot, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon from Accendo is a dark, cassis-laden effort tinged with violets and black tea. Full-bodied, rich, velvety and tannic, it shows lovely harmony and structure, ample but not overdone concentration and tremendous length and elegance.

98 Points - Decanter
Tasted with Bart Araujo at Wheeler Farms, the 'Rolls Royce of custom crush facilities', as described by Accendo winemaker Nigel Kinsman. Bart and wife Daphne established Wheeler Farms after selling their Araujo Estate (now Eisele Vineyard) to the Artemis Group. Grapes are sourced from Vine Hill Ranch, Sleeping Lady in Rutherford, Eco Tone (a former Abreu property), and a site on Diamond Mountain formerly known as Reverie. Generous blackberry fruit aromas are tinged with wild herbs and heady cedar spices. Broad and expansive on the palate with saturated dark fruit, cassis, graphite and wild herbs. Rustic, elongated tannins glide to a savoury finish.

96 Points - Wine Spectator
Delivers a lush yet focused wave of gorgeous loganberry and black currant fruit laced subtly with warm loam, alder smoke and dried bay leaf details. Delivers a long cast-iron spine that drives underneath from start to finish, with the fruit taking an encore alongside a violet note at the very end. A touch more grip than your typical '19 as well. Impressive.

Product size: 750ml