Screaming Eagle, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, California, 2019

Overview of the Wine
Screaming Eagle is one of Napa Valley's smallest wineries. The little stone winery is perched on a rocky hillside in the Oakville Appellation overlooking the vineyard planted in Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. The wine is aged in 65% new French oak barrels for almost two years. Annual production is approximately 500 cases with most wine sold directly to consumers via a mailing list. The winery's first release was approximately 200 cases of the 1992 vintage.

To understand the wines made by The Hilt, one might need to come visit the hard and harsh conditions under which they are born. The unobstructed, ocean facing east-west valley known as Sta. Rita Hills Valley is a complex AVA. One could divide it into four quadrants: northern-facing, southern-facing, close to the ocean, and further inland from the ocean. With such a frame, The Hilt’s favorite vineyards are in the northern-facing, closest to the ocean, windswept quadrant. These sites are the worst place for a grape grower, but the best ones for a winemaker. Rancho Salsipuedes, where The Hilt wines make their home, provides vineyards planted on land nearly 13 unobstructed miles from the ocean on the west. This unique, large and sprawling property offers a range of altitudes, aspects, soil types, and microclimates, giving winemaker Matt Dees a patchwork of vineyard parcels from which to select grapes and create wines with distinctive styles.

Diverse though it may be, Salsipuedes possesses some aspects that remain consistent: the land has poor soils that force vines to dig deep; there are powerful, whipping winds and a cold maritime climate that allow grapes on the property to ripen slowly and retain acidity despite the warm daytime sun; and the vines on the property are low in vigor, allowing them to produce low yields of concentrated, complex grapes. It is with these three important components – poor soils, whipping winds and a cool maritime climate along with low vigor vines – that Salsipuedes defines itself in the Sta. Rita Hills.

Grape / Blend
Cabernet Sauvignon

Origin
Oakville, Napa Valley, California

Winemaker's Tasting Notes
Mindlblowing nose with spearmint, cloves and blackberries. Floral, too. Full body with phenomenal detail featuring delicate but intense blackberry, espresso, toasted oak, caramel and dark chocolate. Cedar and sweet tobacco. Finesse all over.

100 Points - Vinous
The 2019 Screaming Eagle is a wine of mind-blowing elegance and finesse that stand apart from the generally more potent style of so many wines in this vintage. Deep, sensual and beautifully layered, the 2019 is simply magnificent from the very first taste. A whole range of red/purplish fruit, spice, leather, dried herb and blood orange accents give the 2019 its vivid, wonderfully detailed personality. Because of its price, both on release and in the secondary market, Screaming Eagle is the most talked about wine in Napa Valley. It is hype or not? All I can say is that I was very fortunate to drink a number of older vintages during lockdown and all those wines lived up to their reputations.

99 Points - James Suckling 
Lots of crushed berries, such as raspberries and blackberries, with spearmint and crushed stone, as well as redcurrants. Full-bodied with regal tannins that build on the palate as you taste it and flow over like a gentle waterfall. Such a beautiful, subtle and graceful texture. Best after 2027.

98 Points - Jeb Dunnuck
The Grand Vin 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon is reminiscent of the 2016, and possibly the 2014, with its beautiful balance, purity, and straight-up class. Offering remarkable purity in its crème de cassis, wildflower, spice, lead pencil, and tobacco-like aromas and flavors, it’s medium to full-bodied, has flawless balance, and building, silky tannins. It’s a thrillingly complete, classic Screaming Eagle that won’t hit maturity for another 7-8 years and I suspect will have 40 to 50 years of overall longevity.

Product size: 750ml