Frog's Leap

There’s wonderful structure in this organically produced wine from the Rutherford Bench in the western slopes of the Rutherford AVA. Winemakers John Williams and Paula Moschetti have made a delicious wine that has milk chocolate aromas and is round with delicious blackberry flavors.

Interestingly, the Frog’s Leap vineyard management team brought this beauty in under 24 Brix (degree of sugar), once the benchmark for Napa Valley Cabernet. Now, of course, producers are going for big, opulent wines and they can’t achieve it unless they pick at upwards of 26 percent. The Leapers brought theirs in at 23.8, which translates to a more restrained wine – but no less wonderful – and a listed alcohol (13.5 percent) that is not off the charts.

The wine was fermented in 5-year-old French oak barrels the first year, and 50 percent 1-year-old, 50 percent 2-year-old French oak the second year. In other words, no new oak was used, which has allowed the tremendous fruit from those two Bench vineyards, including the famous Bella Oaks Vineyard, to emerge. Unfortunately, there were only 610 cases produced.

Reviewed October 20, 2006 by Alan Goldfarb.