2020 Cabernet Sauvignon

Co-founded by Dan and Margaret Duckhorn in 1976, Duckhorn Vineyards has spent nearly fifty years establishing itself as one of North America's premier Napa Valley wine producers. From its modest inaugural vintage of 800 cases of Cabernet Sauvignon and 800 cases of Merlot in 1978, Duckhorn Vineyards has crafted a tradition of quality and excellence that continues today.

Since the inaugural vintage of 1978, here is an emblematic vintage based on Cabernet Sauvignon. Made from grapes nestled in the heights of the Napa Valley, this wine embodies the complexity of the valley's terroirs, while offering a perfect balance between fruit, barrel aging and tannins. After manual harvesting and careful sorting of the grape berries, the wine ages for 16 months in French oak barrels, 50% of which are new. This wine reveals seductive aromas of blueberry , cardamom , black plum , wild blackberries , biscuit , dark chocolate, leather , black tea and violet . On the palate, we feel the finely textured tannins, with a marked and balanced acidity contributing to a long and elegant finish.

In the United States, 90% of the wine produced comes from California. It was the influx of gold prospectors to California that boosted the California wine industry in the mid-19th century, particularly in the Sonoma and Napa region. At the start of the 20th century, there were 800 wineries. From 1919 to 1933 Prohibition destroyed the vast majority of the California wine industry so that by 1933, only 140 wineries remained producing wine. It was only from 1960 that the wine industry began to recover from Prohibition and California was primarily known for the production of fortified wines (in the style of Port). It was also in the 1960s that some of the most famous estates were created (Mondavi, Heitz Wine Cellars, Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, etc...). In 1976, a significant event took place: the legendary tasting competition better known as the "Judgment of Paris". He sees the greatest French wines opposing the new American wines. This May 24, an unexpected result shakes the world of wine, since to everyone's surprise, it is the United States which wins. However, this competition remains relatively unknown to the general public. Today, there is no doubt that the United States produces great wines. Even though California largely monopolizes the reputation of American wines with its excellent Zinfandels, the state of Oregon produces some of the best Pinot Noir in the world and the state of Washington offers excellent Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet-Sauvignon.