Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Oakville Stanford Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Audacieux

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Oakville Stanford

Audacieux Oakville Stanford is a single vineyard and single varietal Cabernet Sauvignon produced from grapes grown on the top of Oakville Grade, Napa Valley. Aged in new French Oak for 24 months, this wine is elegant and expressive with the qualities of a fine Bordeaux. Produced and handcrafted by Ron Allen and Winemaker Chris Taddei.

San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition
Double Gold winner at the 2018 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition
Best Wine Awards
Gold Medal winner at the 2020 Best Wine Awards
Vintages
2015 - Sold Out
  • 100% Cabernet Sauvignon – Single Vineyard
  • Oakville Ridge, Napa, California
  • Un-fined and unfiltered
  • 24 months in 100% new French Oak

The 2015 Audacieux Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is a wine deliberately made to emulate the style of fine Bordeaux and embody the tradition of patience and excellence but also to embrace the fruit, texture, and roundness that has made Napa wine so famous. The 2015 Audacieux is an extracted full-bodied wine with layers of berry and dark stone fruit, a long finish, and elegant tannins that lend to a round and soft mouthfeel. This 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wine is balanced and approachable now but will age well for decades and will continue to evolve with time.

Winemakers Notes:

This wine is both expressive and elegant in nature. The 2015 Audacieux rivals the characteristics of the finest Bordeaux yet couples the best qualities of the most sought after Napa Cabernets. The tannins are soft yet bring structure, while the fruit rounds out the mid-palate with spice and minerality, leading to a long and memorable finish sure to leave you wanting more. The flavors are deliberate yet subtle and not overpowering and the finish is long and includes notes of dark berries with soft yet attentive tannins. The overall mouthfeel is round, soft, and pleasing.

Vineyard Notes:

The 2015 vintage of Audacieux is Napa County single vineyard designate from a private estate on the top of Oakville Grade. This rugged hillside property just above Oakville is a very highly sought after terroir. At an elevation of approximately 1,000 feet, this vineyard has a unique combination of clones planted to produce a wine that has a distinctive French style that is coupled with Napa fruit qualities.

Harvest Notes:

The 2015 growing season marked our third year in a row with drought conditions. A mild winter causing early bud break, followed by protracted bloom and unseasonably cool weather in spring, contributed to smaller grape clusters and variable crop size. The high temperatures in August and early September accelerated maturity and made the fruit from this vintage very flavorful. Overall yields were down but the grapes showed excellent phenolic development with big, rich, ripe fruit in balance with the tannins and the great color. This is a vintage of exceptional quality.

2014 - Sold Out
  • 100% Cabernet Sauvignon – Single Vineyard
  • Oakville Ridge, Napa, California
  • Un-fined and unfiltered
  • 24 months in 100% new French Oak

The 2014 Audacieux Cabernet Sauvignon is a wine deliberately made to emulate the style of fine Bordeaux and embody the tradition of patience and excellence but also to embrace the fruit, texture, and roundness that has made Napa wine so famous. The 2014 Audacieux is an extracted full-bodied wine with layers of berry and dark stone fruit, a long finish, and elegant tannins that lend to a round and soft mouthfeel. This 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wine is balanced and approachable now but will age well for decades and will continue to evolve with time.

Sommelier Christopher Sawyer had this to say about the 2014 Audacieux:
From its deep, rich, and distinct aromas of dark-toned fruits, ripe berries, cocoa powder, lavender, cigar box, and savory spice, to its elegant entry and velvety texture, this wine becomes more graceful and complex as it opens up in the glass. On the palate, plush notes of dark cherry, blackberry, huckleberry, blueberry, cassis, wild currants, and fresh mountain sage are enhanced with hints of allspice, mineral, and fine French oak. Balanced with soft, fine-grained tannins, bright acidity, and firm structure, the flavor profile is topped off with a long, persistent finish. The end result is a profoundly elegant wine that is rich and approachable when young, with plenty of backbone, natural verve, and pure fruit flavors to make it a true gem to cellar for many years to come.

With food, this masterful balance of depth, flavor, and finesse make this a great wine to pair with blue cheese, wild mushrooms, pan-seared duck breast, grill steaks, rack of lamb, and dark chocolate desserts. Dynamic and oh so satisfying from start to finish.
Score: 97 points

Winemakers Notes:

This wine is both round in the mouth and elegant in nature. The 2014 Audacieux rivals the characteristics of the finest Bordeaux yet couples the best qualities of the most sought after Napa Cabernets. The tannins are soft yet bring structure, while the fruit rounds out the mid-palate with spice and minerality, leading to a long and memorable finish sure to leave you wanting more. The flavors are deliberate yet subtle and not overpowering and the finish is long and includes notes of dark berries with soft yet attentive tannins. The overall mouthfeel is round, soft, and pleasing.

Vineyard Notes:

The 2014 vintage of Audacieux is Napa County single vineyard designate from a private estate on the top of Oakville Grade. This rugged hillside property just above Oakville is a very highly sought after terroir. At an elevation of approximately 1,000 feet, this vineyard has a unique combination of clones planted to produce a wine that has a distinctive French style that is coupled with Napa fruit qualities.

Harvest Notes:

The 2014 growing season marked our third year in a row with drought conditions. Although December and January were dry, late rains in February through early April helped fill the reservoirs. A warm and windy spring brought early bud break to the vineyards with fruit development tracking two weeks ahead of normal. The summer months were warm, leading to balanced growth in the vineyard. September brought ideal weather with cool nights and warm afternoons. We slowly started picking our Oakville Cabernet at the end of the month, but a short heatwave in early October pushed everything into ripeness. We picked up the pace, and by mid-month we had the fruit crushed and in the tank.

2013 - Sold Out

The 2013 Audacieux is a wine that is made in the style of fine Bordeaux and embodies a tradition of patience and excellence. This wine is extracted with layers of balanced tannins, soft fruit, gentle mouthfeel, and a long finish. If you choose to age your Audacieux it is very well balanced, will store well for decades, and will get better with time.

Sommelier Christopher Sawyer had this to say about the 2013 Audacieux: This vibrant wine opens with seductive aromas of ripe berries, mountain herbs, chocolate ganache, and cedar. The flavors are deep and robust briary blackberry, ripe blueberry, cassis, dark plum, fresh currants, sage, and a nice balance of fine French oak, chewy tannins, and rich, round mouthfeel lead to a long, lingering finish. 97 points.

Winemakers Notes:

This wine is gentle and elegant in nature and has the qualities you would find in a fine Bordeaux. The tannins are soft while the fruit remains bright mid-palate. The flavors are subtle and not overpowering and the finish is long and includes notes of blackberries and mild tannins. The overall mouthfeel is soft and pleasing. This wine would be best enjoyed with any dish that does not overpower the elegant flavors.

Vineyard Notes:

The 2013 vintage of Audacieux is Napa County single vineyard designate from a private estate on Oakville Grade. This rugged hillside property just above Oakville is a very highly sought after terroir. At an elevation of approximately 1,000 feet, this vineyard has a unique combination of clones planted to produce a wine that has a distinctively French style.

Harvest Notes:

The 2013 growing season encountered a warm, dry spring that brought early bud break, helped with canopy vigor and berry size, and created ideal conditions for flowering and fruit set under sunny skies. With the exception of one heat spike in late June/early July, temperatures were consistently in the zone for optimal vine activity, resulting in notably healthy vines as fruit went through veraison and started ripening.  The cooler, sunny weather throughout October allowed the final grapes still on the vine to linger longer, developing more phenolic and flavor maturities with sugar levels remaining steady.

2012 - Sold Out

Winemakers Notes:

This wine is gentle and elegant in nature and has the qualities you would find in a fine Bordeaux. The tannins are soft while the fruit remains bright mid-palate. The flavors are subtle and not overpowering and the finish is long and includes notes of blackberries and mild tannins. The overall mouthfeel is soft and pleasing. This wine would be best enjoyed with any dish that does not overpower the elegant flavors.

Vineyard Notes:

The 2012 vintage of Audacieux is Napa County single vineyard designate from a private estate on Oakville Grade called S. Vineyards. The property is situated just above Oakville at an elevation of approximately 1,000 feet and has a unique combination of clones planted to produce a wine that has a distinctively French style.

Harvest Notes:

2012 growing season was a very unique season marked by superb growing conditions that created low yields of high flavor fruit. The spring weather, with long stretches of cool days, yielded a near-perfect spring bud break and great flowering. The 2012 vintage will be ready to drink in late 2015 and can be aged for quite some time.