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Meadowcroft Wines is one of the few wineries we include in this project who make their wine outside of Napa (just a handful so far). This project is about being as inclusive as possible and we include a review here because this small winery owns a 2.4 acre Mt. Veeder located vineyard which provides all the grapes for their reserve wines, called Meadowcroft (under the Magito parent winery). Mt. Veeder is a sub appellation in Napa, and is sometimes referred to by us as the "wild" Napa appellation because of all the native forests and very steep hillsides. As a result this vineyard is surrounded by native vegetation and forest land, all of which plays a part in the specific terroir characteristics that come out in these Mt. Veeder grown wines.
We recently ran into winemaker and owner Tom Meadowcroft at an urban tasting in San Francisco and asked him how many cases he produces. We were taken back when he said 22 cases. Wow, that makes him the smallest producer we've tasted with to date. Actually there is more to the story as his production will be increasing relatively considerably and should be around 400 cases when he gets a full crop in the door. His first vintage was supposed to be 2003 but unfortunately the ravages of nature sometimes rear their heads. We've come across stories of freak hail storms and wild turkeys but in Tom's case gates were left open and deer entered the vineyard and destroyed more than 80% of the crop. Agg. The 2004 vintage was was his first release. He planted the entire vineyard in 2000. The vineyard looks a bit different from other vineyards you may see in the area as the vine's cordons are trained relatively low to the ground; this gives additional intensity to the fruit as well as an overall warmer ripening environment during season. Tom has worked with several prominent Napa wineries over the years including Robert Biale Vineyards, Duckhorn, Opus One and Stag's Leap Wine Cellars. His inspiration for getting into the wine industry started when he was living in Europe and was washing wine bottles for a living for a short time. That's an interesting story that only Tom can tell. His last name almost describes his vineyards perfectly as the word Meadowcroft means "fertile area" and the croft is the "cultivated area" that has been nurtured over time. Look for the honeybee on the label and you will know you have a Meadowcroft wine. We tried the 2004. As with all wines from this vineyard to date, it is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. This is a dark wine with a huge nose of black cherry and cassis. Fruit combined with exotic spices on the palate and a rich lingering finish make drinking this wine a pleasure. Visit: www.magitowines.com/scripts/cpg.cfm?id=3 |
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