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Cathiard Vineyard Red Wine Founding Brothers Napa Valley 2021
Cathiard Vineyard Red Wine Founding Brothers Napa Valley 2021

Reviews

96 - James Suckling -

95 - The Wine Independent -

Technical Details

  • Blend 59% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot and 9% Cabernet Fanc
  • Winemaker Justine Labbe, Fabien Teitgen with consulting winemaker Micehl Rolland
  • Country US
  • Region California
  • Sub Region North Coast
  • Appellation Napa Valley
  • Vineyard Estate Vineyards
  • Oak 50% new French oak and 20% large foudres
  • Aging / Cooperage 16 to 18 Months
  • Alcohol 14.3%
  • Production 1000

Cathiard Vineyard Red Wine Founding Brothers Napa Valley 2021

Bordeaux Blends | California

JS96, TWI95

SPECIAL: Ground shipping included on 2+ bottles!

$225.00

$224.95

750ML

0% OFF RETAIL!

In 1885, the estate was first planted by Scottish brothers James and William Rennie – descendants of British engineers, including an uncle who was knighted for his work on the London Bridge. They brought this same level of innovation to Napa Valley, contributing many engineering feats to St. Helena and their winery alike before a combination of a cellar fire and phylloxera abruptly brought their winemaking dreams to a halt. New owners took over, but the property was officially shut down in 1920 with Prohibition, adding to the ghost town of wineries in the area. Two more families took ownership after Prohibition ended before the Cathiards visited and fell in love with the property’s biodiversity, reminding them of their Bordeaux properties, including Château Smith Haut Lafitte. Once professional skiers who first visited America in 1969 to attend Woodstock, Florence, and Daniel vehemently pursue, preserve, and prop up nature and the arts in all that they do, including their proud efforts expressed through the wines made at Cathiard Vineyard.

The 2021 Founding Brothers red – of which we regrettably only have a handful of bottles – is crafted of 59% cabernet sauvignon, 32% merlot, and 9% cabernet franc harvested from the property’s hillside and benchland vines. Named in honor of the Rennie brothers, this magnificently expressive red envelops you with rich black fruits, licorice, blood orange, and opulent hits of dark cocoa, finishing with firm tannins and an earthy spine.

About The Producer

In 1885, brothers James and William Rennie, immigrants from Scotland, purchased a property in Napa Valley, planting sixty acres of grapes spanning the Rutherford and St. Helena AVAs. They built an innovative stone gravity-flow winery, inspired by their heritage as descendants of British engineers, including their uncle Sir John Rennie, famed for completing the London Bridge. The Rennie Brothers were pioneers in the industry, being the first in California to use a gasoline-powered engine for grape crushing, and they developed some of the most well-extracted vintages of their time. However, their winemaking journey was cut short by a devastating fire and the spread of phylloxera, which led to the closure of the winery in 1920 with the onset of Prohibition. The once-thriving estate fell into disuse and became one of Napa Valley's "ghost wineries," intact but untouched for many years. In 1933, Louis Martini purchased the property, building a large wood house where he lived with his family in the early '40s. The property changed hands again in the late '70s, being sold to the Komes-Garvey family, and most recently to Florence and Daniel Cathiard in January 2020. The Cathiards, former high-level ski champions and attendees of the 1969 Woodstock festival, fell in love with the estate's biodiversity. Their respect for nature, already a cornerstone of their Bordeaux properties like Château Smith Haut Lafitte, is now expressed at Cathiard Vineyard, where their passion for nature and the arts continues to flourish.