Volker Eisele Family Estate

Long before this approach was popular with consumers, the Eisele Family Estate, located in the Chiles Valley AVA, had been organically farmed. Patriarch Volker Eisele and his wife Liesel, along with their son Alexander continue to run the estate and produce the wines artisanally, as they have for thirty years, along with winemaker John McKay and the Nevarez family, who oversees vineyard operations.

Three wines are produced, this Cabernet Sauvignon, and a Bordeaux blend (or Meritage) white, Gemini, and red, Terzetto. The property is 400 acres, 60 of which are planted at elevations between 900 and 1100 feet, with a variety of exposures and soil types.

This blend of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Cabernet Franc, and 8% Merlot is a hazy, opaque purple fading to ruby then clear at the rim, with well-marked legs. On the nose it has notes of cassis, black cherry, black currant, tar, cedar strip, maple syrup, and toasted oak. It has a full, broad entry, with elegant, varietally expressive fruit. Juicy, accessible, and ripe enough fruit is presented with just enough French oak for structure, and alcohol and acids are well-integrated. Like other Napa Cabs of the pre-Monsterian era, this wine would be welcome at any table.

Reviewed February 6, 2007 by Catherine Fallis.