Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 – The Best Price in the World!!
Now, a clever man would put the poison into his own goblet, because he would know that only a great fool would reach for what he was given. I am not a great fool, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of you. But you must have known I was not a great fool, you would have counted on it, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of me…
Vizzini, The Princess Bride (1987)
Only a great fool would not recognize a great Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon value! In the past we have sold a few hundred cases of Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon every year the first decade I owned the Wine Watch. I can’t believe it has be 10 years since we sent out an offering on this wine. So when we were able to work a KILLER deal out on the 2022 vintage we jumped on 25 cases knowing that even though it has been a decade since we sent out an offering on this wine we would still have a few of our “Wine Drinking People” out there that remember Mount Veeder! This wine is always an over achiever and a lot of the grapes for this wine still comes from the original vineyard site the Bernsteins planted in the early 1970's up on the Mount Veeder!!
Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon - Consistent Excellence
Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon has been one of our perennial winners in the "best buys in Napa Valley" category over the last few years. The Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon Napa bottling is about as good as it gets for under $50 a bottle.
Wine Watch has the best price in the country on 2022 Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon. A blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot. The wine is aged in a combination of American and French oak for a period of 19 months. Mount Veeder blends fruit from their Mount Veeder ranch with small lots of other Napa Valley hillside grapes to add complexity and depth. The result is a wine that is immediately rich and supple, with the potential to age.
2022 Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon Napa
Winery List $70 Sale $39.75 Cheapest Price on Winesearcher $44.99!!
Wine Watch Review: A fairly earthy style with notes of bay leaves and black pepper spice to the currant and black cherry fruit laced with espresso and some fresh earth and dark bittersweet chocolate, this wine needs a bit of time to open but really shows some nice complexity with a little time. Powerful and rich on the tongue with excellent structure firm tannins and a firm hand of acidity holding things in place, lots of ripe currant and dark plum berry fruit and a long layered finish, dark earth and spice, mocha, coffee. This wine needs a little time but has all the right pieces. Finish 40+ Excellent +
A bit of information about the 2022 vintage in California:
The 2022 vintage is a continuation of our mission to focus on elevating all aspects of winemaking, vineyard management, and fruit sourcing. We believe that great grapes come from great people who share our passion for distinguished terroir. We’re proud of the grower relationships we’ve maintained, whose knowledge and intuition guide them as they adapt to challenging vintages like 2022.
Our final blend for the 2022 vintage includes a significant portion of Merlot, which adds freshness, bright red fruit notes, and a plush texture on the palate. The 2022 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon showcases expressive aromatics, generous fruit, and soft tannins that are amenable to enjoy upon release.
A bit about Mount Veeder Winery:
Well up in the Mayacamas Mountains on an extinct volcano called Mt. Veeder sits a winery of the same name. It was once the site of the old Moyer prune farm; San Francisco attorney Mike Bernstein purchased the property back in 1963 - mostly as a weekend retreat. Without any serious long range plans, Mike and his wife, Arlene, planted a few vines in 1965 and eventually grafted them over to cabernet sauvignon. In 1969 they purchased a 1400 foot-high plum farm a half mile up the road. Over the course of time the plum farm was turned into a five acre vineyard planted to the classic Bordeaux grape varieties: cabernet sauvignon, merlot, petit verdot, cabernet franc, and malbec. By 1973 the winery was completed in time for production of 375 cases of Cabernet Sauvignon. By 1977, Mt. Veeder's other Bordeaux varietals were ready for blending with the winery's Cabernet. To our knowledge, the 1977 Mt. Veeder Cabernet was the first California Cabernet to be composed of a blend of all the classic Bordeaux grape varieties. We tasted this wine at our California Cult Cabernet Sauvingon tastings in 2010 and it was still quite good.
In the early years Mt. Veeder staked out a reputation similar to nearby Mayacamas Vineyards - the Cabs were big, tannic beasts packed with fruit and varietal intensity. There was a legion of loyal fans for the winery's small production. Although once quite fashionable, this style began to fall from favor in the 1980's. Perhaps recognizing this fact, the Bernsteins decided to sell rather than switch. The new proprietors were Henry and Lisille Matheson, formerly of Miami, Florida, where Henry's family was very active in real estate. (His great-grandfather once owned the entire island of Key Biscayne!) A year earlier in 1981, the winery had also retained a new winemaker, Peter Franus, who had worked previously at Chalone and Chateau St. Jean. During the latter part of the 1980's the Mathesons struggled to gain recognition for their winery. Shortly after their arrival at Mt. Veeder, the best Cabernet in the winery's history debuted to extremely positive reviews. It seemed that a radical departure in style was afoot. The 1981 had lots of "mountain personality" with big structure and fruit, but at the same time it was graceful and well-balanced. It was one of our favorite wines of the 1981 vintage. The Chardonnays during that era were crafted in the tight, austere, oaky style so characteristic of Chardonnays from Mt. Veeder grapes. After the burst of very favorable press for the 1981 Cabernet, things seemed to go straight downhill for the Mathesons. The wines of the middle 1980's were panned by the critics, and the Mathesons decided that their only choice was to sell the winery.
In June of 1989 Agustin Huneeus, the Vintner-President of Franciscan Estate Selections, which owned Franciscan Oakville Estate, Estancia, and a new estate in Chile known as Veramonte, signed a contract to purchase Mt.Veeder from the Mathesons. Huneeus' long range plan had always been to augment his impressive quality portfolio with additional top vineyards while maintaining their separate identities. His uncanny good sense told him that Mt. Veeder was capable of producing outstanding wine - The Hess Collection vineyard (which was adjacent to Mt. Veeder's vineyards) had produced some extraordinary wines during the 1980's. Huneeus and his team immediately set about making many improvements such as retrellising the vineyards, providing drip irrigation so that the vines would not be over-stressed, and installing a computerized press for the grapes. Changes were made in winemaking style to soften the overly tannic nature of the Mt. Veeder fruit, and new barrels were brought into the winery. Peter Franus, the winemaker who had been with the Matheson regime, departed in January of 1993. Huneeus then installed Ms. Darice Spinelli, who had worked for three years under Greg Upton, formerly the senior winemaker who oversaw all the Franciscan Estates properties.
At the time of the sale Mt. Veeder had about forty acres planted to cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, merlot, chardonnay, and zinfandel. Huneeus has since planted another fifty acres (called the North Ranch) to cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, and merlot. The decision was also made to tear out the chardonnay after the '92 vintage and also replant it with the aforementioned red Bordeaux varietals. Beginning with the 1987 Cabernet, which was finished under the auspices of the Huneeus team, the improvements at Mt. Veeder have been dramatic. The 1987 was an excellent first start; it was followed by a terrific 1989. The winery turned the corner with the release of the superb 1990 (probably the best regular Mt. Veeder Cabernet ever produced). Demand for this wine was almost hysterical because of the very high rating (94) in The Wine Spectator. The Chardonnay was discontinued after the 1992 vintage (ironically we thought it was the only outstanding Chardonnay we had ever tasted from this property!) Production now centers on a Cabernet Sauvignon, the Reserve Red, and a small amount of Zinfandel. Total annual output will max out at about 12,500 cases, about 25% of which will be the Reserve Red.
Today Mount Veeder is owned by Franciscan Estates which is, in turn, owned by Constellation Brands. Even though this winery is part of the largest wine group in the world it is still run like the small family owned winery when it was first started by Mike Bernstein and today the winemaker is Janet Myers.
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