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What We Say 1995 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
LIBRARY RAID ALERT!
Today’s wine is a very rare thing indeed. After nearly 15 years of tender storage, we managed to get our hands on a very limited quantity of today’s beautifully aged masterpiece
SPECTACULAR WINE ALERT!
We always feature great wines, but today’s wine deserves this extra-special alert.
SECRET SAVINGS ALERT:
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Mission Codename: A shining light
Operative: Agent Red
Objective: Plumb the depths of Burgess Cellars’ archives and retrieve an amazing Cabernet Sauvignon of at least ten years of age
Mission Status: Accomplished!
Current Winery: Burgess Vineyard
Wine Subject: 1995 Cabernet Sauvignon
Winemaker: Steve Burgess
Backgrounder: To say that we have come to appreciate Burgess Cellars wines would be to understate the case dramatically. Burgess wines thrill us with their excellence. When we learned that there might be a few remaining cases of their 1995 Cabernet Sauvignon, we dispatched Agent Red to procure as many as he could get his hands on. He returns, victorious, with a small cache of this incredible wine. Read Agent Red’s tasting notes and mission report below
Wine Spies Tasting Profile:
Look – A surprising deep and pure ruby red, with none of the brickishness (orange-red color, like a brick) often found in older vintages. The wine appears youthful, springy and tight, with great clarity through its darker heart. When swirled, it settles quickly, leaving behind wide-spaced legs of medium width. Also left behind is a small amount of grainy sediment
Smell – Deeply aromatic with lush layers of dark fruit of mixed berries, plum and , lovingly intermingled with soft cedar, misty redwood forest, mild spice and softly smoky cherry
Feel – Supple, soft and velvet smooth at first, then the tenderness recedes just a little to reveal a slight dryness as soft tannins emerge, coating and drying the mouth
Taste – Incredibly delicious, with bright fruit of dark mixed berry, cherry, plum and cassis, balanced perfectly against earthen flavors of soft spice, tender toasty oak and subtle mint
Finish – Starts bright, juicy and mouth-coating, then darker and more earthen flavors accompany the fruit – before all flavors ramp down slowly.
Conclusion – This is very likely the best Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon I have ever tasted! Burgess’ secret? Start with the best fruit, grown during one of the most saught-after vintages, and then lovingly cellared under the best possible conditions. The result is a beautiful wine that is full of life and vibrancy. Thanks for the vision – and patience? – of Steve Burgess, you have a remarkable opportunity to enjoy this perfectly-aged Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine provides deep thrills, but also a valuable lesson: Proper storage of great wine can lead to incredible wine for the patient wine collector!
Mission Report:
Today’s mission was not fraught with intrigue, peril or spectacular sleuthing. Nor is this what some Operatives would call a smash & grab or even a hit and run mission. Yes, it was somewhat easy to procure today’s wine for you and yes we had to do a fair amount of begging for it. Other than that, you only need to know a few things about today’s Stupendous, Spectacular, Surreal and Sublime selection:
1) This wine was hidden away, deep inside the Burgess vaults. Its existence was a secret to all but those closest to the winery
2) The wine was tenderly cared for at Burgess, under ideal conditions for perfect aging
3) We only have a small allocation, so please be sure to order as much as you’ll ever want to have. You won’t likely see this wine again
4) Our handling of the wine will be with the utmost care and tenderness. We won’t ship the wine to you if weather conditions between ourselves and your location put the wine at any sort of risk (indeed, we protect all outbound shipments in the same way)
5) This wine is extraordinary. Its ready to drink now, and I believe that it still has more aging potential in it!
That all said, please be sure order your allotment early, and please do not tell non-Operatives about the wine. Let’s keep this one strictly to ourselves.
Covert Cheers,
Agent Red
Wine Spies Vineyard Check:
The location of the lush Howell Mountain, in Napa, can be seen in this satellite photo..
What the Winery Says
Burgess Cellars
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Burgess Cellars, Member, Napa Valley Vintners
This vintage was another excellent year for our Cabernet Sauvignon. The winery’s estate vineyard again produced outstanding fruit from fully mature vines. The complexity and depth of character can only be achieved from this mountain location. The wine displays the vineyards unique qualities and the use of French oak further enhances these flavors. Its finish indicates it can be enjoyed now, but will continue to develop.
About This Wine:
The winery’s Estate mountain vineyards again produced outstanding fruit from fully mature vines. The complexity and depth of character can only be achieved from this mountain location. This wine has a small blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc and is aged in French oak barrels for 18 months.
Library Release – This is our newest Library wine to be re-released after additional cellar aging in ideal conditions at the winery. A classic Burgess Cabernet Sauvignon, full of elegance and complexity—that’s our character. Dark fruits integrated with a bouquet of cedar, herbs, mint and an ethereal summation that can only be found in an aged, complex wine. The balance and structure makes this a great wine for food pairings which range from heartier meats or an assortment of cheeses.
About The Winery:
Burgess Cellars, located on the slopes of Howell Mountain in Napa Valley, focuses on creating exceptional, hand-crafted estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot & Syrah.
Burgess traces its origins to an original winery on the property in the 1880’s. Since 1972, Napa Valley pioneer Tom Burgess and his family have followed the belief that it is vital to grow only those varietals ideally suited to a particular vineyard’s soil composition, sun and wind exposure, and overall micro-climate. The French refer to this as “terroir,” and it certainly explains the consistent aromas and flavors found in the hillside Burgess Cabernet Sauvignon.
Over the years three distinct estate vineyard sites have been cultivated and nurtured to create the very best handcrafted wines. The Burgess flagship wine, Cabernet Sauvignon, thrives on the western slopes of Howell Mountain near the winery; Merlot is ideally suited to the Triere Vineyard on the Napa Valley floor in the Oak Knoll AVA just south of Yountville; Syrah is perfectly matched to conditions in the estate vineyard site on the eastern slope of Howell Mountain.
Burgess is somewhat unique in the Napa Valley today, in that it is truly a family-owned winery which has employed the same gifted winemaker, Bill Sorenson, since the winery’s re-birth in 1972.
Technical Analysis:
Vintage: 1995
Appellation: Napa Valley, California
Vineyard Locations: Burgess Estate Vineyards, Western & Eastern slopes of Howell Mountain
Grape Variety: 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 8%Cabernet Franc
Alcohol: 13.0%
pH: 3.65
T.A.: 0.62
Harvest Notes: Due to the ideal harvest conditions with complete maturity after a cool summer, this vintage was wonderful for our Cabernet.
Cases Released (six packs): 1,700
