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Today their two children James and Caroline are involved. James left his fast paced life in Los Angeles creating sound tracks for movies and working for reality TV and has taken over as the General Manager. His sister Caroline is learning the art of winemaking. There are not too many better teachers than the well regarded Paul Hobbs. He has been their winemaker since the beginning (1st vintage 2000). Paul has his own winery in Sonoma County and is creates wine in Mendoza Argentina under the Vina Cobos label. Stewart's wines are very much hand-crafted, letting native yeasts conduct the fermentation and their level of cleanliness in the winery is such that they do not need to fine or filter their wines. Their focus has been on two wines each year, a Cabernet Sauvignon from the Napa Valley as well as a Pinot Noir from the Russian River region in neighboring Sonoma County. In addition, their 2005 Nomad Cabernet Sauvignon is their first Reserve wine under the Stewart label. This wine is made from hand selected barrels comprising only the best fruit. More recently they have diversified their production with a second label called Slingshot. Their winemaker for this label is Stephen Test (degree from UC Davis and former winemaking director at Merryvale Winery); as a result they are one of the few boutique producers to employ two winemakers. They currently source from several premium vineyards in Napa for their Stewart Cabernet Sauvignon including the Juliana Vineyard, Stagecoach (high on Atlas Peak) and Beckstoffer Georges IV Vineyard in Rutherford. Their contracts are long term and they are able to source from the same vineyard blocks each year bringing a consistency of terroir into their wines which is not always the case when you are exclusively sourcing fruit. The 2005 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is 100% varietal. The wine is very dark in the glass. The unctuous nose is deep, inviting and elegant. Certainly it will continue to develop as it breathes but there are amazing complexities in the bouquet right out of the bottle before this wine has even had a chance to open up. Layers of spice, dried herbs, cedar, black currant, blackberry and just a touch of white pepper are on the nose. The palate is surprisingly soft upon entry. The body quickly gains in complexity from middle to the finish. It is juicy, ripe and shows red and dark fruits. This wine finishes with both intense fruit and grace (broad grained tannins) leaving a pleasant lingering taste of vanilla, toasted oak and dark fruit. Their Slingshot wines are priced extremely affordably (by Napa standards) and for the quality/price ratio are good buys. It is always hard to find a Napa Cabernet Sauvignon for under $30 from an artisan producer; their Slingshot Cabernet delivers in this regard. Both the Slingshot Cabernet Sauvignon and the Sauvignon Blanc are sourced from their own Juliana Vineyard. As James says, "a great wine should go well with a great pizza". These are the everyday wines you can drink while you are waiting for the Stewart Cellar wines to age. After spending much time and effort on deciding a name for the wine and even hiring a branding agency James happened upon one of his favorite Jazz tunes called "Slingshot" on his iPod. Sometimes inspiration comes from the simplest of efforts. The 2006 Slingshot Cabernet Sauvignon is ruby in color in the glass. The bouquet is all about the bright fruit and floral aromatics - red fruit, cranberry, raspberry and red currant show. The wine has good acidity and balance with medium to full bodied structure. The finish shows a hint of vanilla and tannins, but not in a harsh way. This wine is ready to drink now; it is your "pop the cork without reservation for the occasion" wine available at a price that won't set you back to far. Tastings are typically for mailing list customers and referrals and are by prior appointment. James is an abstract artist and the tastings are held in his studio in St. Helena. At the time of this review, their wines are selectively distributed in 22 states and you can find their wines locally at a number of fine restaurants and wine stops including ACME Wine Shop in St. Helena. For more information visit: www.stewartcellars.com or www.slingshotwines.com |
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