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Fiancetto
Stags Leap District
Napa Valley, California
2012
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One of my favorite things about working in the wine business is watching the next generation of farmers and winemakers work their way up the ranks. In Europe, it is often a young son coming home from school to tell his father that he no longer wants to sell grapes, he wants to make wine. In California, especially in Napa, it’s a bit less romantic. Generally, the Board of Directors involves investment banks to make ownership changes in the Valley. Not exactly the same. So where do new estates come from? How does the next generation take over? Since the market crash of 2008 changed everything in the American wine market, we’ve definitely seen some ambitious young winemakers zig when others zag. Guys like Chad Alexander, whose runaway success story CHAD brought us some of the best deals in American wine we’ve ever seen. Now, guys like Ry Richards, the brainchild and winemaker behind his new project, Fiancetto, are delivering the same.
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Napa Insider's Secret
Ry Richards refined his hand by crafting complex, vibrant Cabernet Sauvignon under the tutelage of Phil Titus at Chappellet Vineyards. Like Chad, Ry is a Napa insider, totally dialed into the grower network. He knows which top vineyards, in the wake of the crash, had gone from 10-year contracts to one year deals, where cash on the barrel a few months before harvest might garner an incredible deal. His latest vintage, 2012, is another smoking hot deal, particularly when you consider the source.
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Cabernet's Perfect Environment
Stags Leap is one of the most recognizable names in Napa Cabernet. It was the ’73 vintage of the Stags Leap Vineyard’s unforgettable Cabernet that rocked the French wine world at the Judgement of Paris and forever placed Napa Valley Cabernet in the hierarchy of the world’s greatest wines. Many years later, the American Viticultural Area, Stags Leap District, was defined, further entrenching the mark of excellence on this special sliver of Napa. The blend of volcanic and alluvial soils, warm days and cool nights are perfect for Cabernet, providing for intense, powerful fruitiness backed by significant structure. It’s not by chance that names like Shafer, Pine Ridge and Chimney Rock built their brands on SLD wines; it’s one of the very best sites for Cabernet in America.
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2012 Fiancetto Stags Leap District
Fiancetto SLD Cab certainly speaks to its source-- two well-drained vineyards in the District. These vineyards are loaded with pebbles and gravel, a gravelly loam that is perfect for vines to send roots deep into the earth, bringing back a terrific mineral quality to the grapes. The wine is great aromatically, with a nose filled with high-toned fruit and baking spice. Ripeness is no issue here; the wine is packed with juicy black fruit and hints of cedar and cocoa. The wine is wonderfully complex and layered with a finish that is a minute long. It is truly a classic Napa Cab, and one of the best young American wines that I have ever tasted.
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This is a knock-out Cabernet Sauvignon, perfect with grilled beef or with just a hunk of cheese. And with a little help from Ry, Corkscrew customers can enjoy a price way, way below market value for a wine like this. Shafer and others generally don’t come in under $75 for any SLD Cabernet. But Ry knows how to deliver a good deal.... $23.50 for this week only (5/12/14 through 5/18/14).
Eat Well, Drink Well,
Laurent Princeton Corkscrew Wine Shop
2012 Fiancetto Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon
Regular Price Corkscrew Price
1 Bottle: $28 $23.50 Over 15% Off
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49 Hulfish St. | Princeton, NJ 08542 | 609-430-1200
www.princetoncorkscrew.com
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The Corkscrew Promise
All of the wine at the Corkscrew Wine Shop has been shipped from the winery and stored, temperature-controlled, at 58 degrees year-round, to ensure the wine is fresh and vibrant at your table.
I would like to thank you for being a customer of the Corkscrew Wine Shop. Without you, the traditional winemakers who work hard and respect their land in order to bring us these incredible wines would not be able to survive and thrive in the modern wine-making industry. I thank you for supporting us, and in turn supporting them.
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