Odette Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
WHY WE LOVE IT
- There was just enough rain at the optimal times early in the growing season, resulting in a pure, balanced expression of Odette Estate in the Stags Leap District.
- The Estate Cabernet Sauvignon is sourced from various blocks on their 45-acre Estate, ranging from four to 34 years in vine age.
- This also marked the first year of incorporating some of their new Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec clones into the blend.
- There was a total of 28 passes across the 32 producing acres over a three week span, enabling each micro block to be captured at optimal ripeness.
Varietal Composition: 82% Cabernet Sauvignon 10% Merlot 4% Malbec 4% Petit Verdot
Elaboration: Fermentation took place in fully jacketed stainless steel fermenters after a four day cold soak at 50 F. Macerations lasted 8-14 days at a maximum temperature of 95 F. Malolactic fermentation took place in barrel and finished up in late winter. The blend was crafted in the early spring of 2017 granting sufficient time to marry together over the next 15 months. The wine was aged in 75% new French Oak for 20 months prior to bottling.
Tasting Notes: Notes of blueberry pie, black currants, black cherries, crushed gravel, spring flowers, fresh lavender, and potpourri. Rich, layered and opaque purple in color, this mouth filling beauty coats the palate as it leads into the weightless, exuberant finish.
PRESS
2016 – 94 Vinous | 95+ Jeb Dunnuck | 95+ Wine Advocate
2017 – 92 Wine Advocate | 93 Jeb Dunnuck | 95 Vinous
2018 – 93 Wine Spectator | 95 Vinous
2019 – 95 Vinous | 97 Jeb Dunnuck
2021 – 95 Vinous | 94 Vinous
PRODUCER BACKGROUND
The 45-acre estate, originally purchased by the Steltzner family in 1964 – was tucked into the dramatic palisades of the Stags Leap District, just east of Silverado Trail. After purchasing the property, Richard and Christine Steltzner converted the open land to vineyards in 1970 and sold the grapes on property through their own vineyard management company. The Steltzner vineyard was the second in the district planted to Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, following one planted in the 1960s by Nathan Fay, now owned by Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars.
It wasn’t until 1977 that the Steltzner’s realized the potential of their Stags Leap District property and decided to make their own wine. In 2012, After three decades of improvements and increased production, the Steltzner’s sold the winery and surrounding vineyards to Gavin Newsom, Gordon Getty and John Conover, making the trio just the second owners to farm the vineyard.
In the fall of that year, the caves would be updated and retrofitted and the vineyards re-planted and converted to 100 percent organic farming. Like CADE Estate, the new winery at Odette Estate would be built to achieve LEED Gold certification. Both achievements would be recognized in 2017, with Odette Estate Winery earning Gold LEED certification for the winery and California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) for the vineyards. The small, state-of-the-art winery building, would become one of just a handful of wineries to feature a living green roof, planted to grasses and plants. In addition to the vegetation, the roof also contains 2,500 square feet of solar panels.
Odette Estate, like PlumpJack and CADE Estate Wineries, was given its name from Shakespeare and other historical works. Odette was a pivotal character, penned by Shakespeare and Proust, and also in Tchaikovsky’s ballet Swan Lake. In the wine world, Odette was the name of one of the French judges at the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976 when a red wine from Stags Leap District beat out the French competition to take top honors.
Today, winemaker Jeff Owens and his winemaking team continue to produce awarding-winning Cabernet sauvignons from the Stags Leap District estate vineyard that encapsulate the inspiration for the property – combining power and elegance, while simultaneously showcasing the unique properties of the AVA.