Schramsberg releases cabernet

Wines & Vines, July, 2004

Following years of speculation, Schramsberg Vineyards of Napa has released a Cabernet Sauvignon. Called J Davies, 500 cases of the 2001 vintage went on sale in select markets in June. It is priced at $65 a bottle. The wine was showcased at the Napa Valley Wine Auction in early June.

The grapes come from the site first planted on Diamond Mountain by Jacob Schram in 1862. Jack and Jamie Davies, who founded Schramsberg in 1965 on the site of the old J. Schram winery, had first planted Pinot noir and Chardonnay for sparkling wine production, but later pulled it out and replanted to Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec, more appropriate varieties for the mountain site.

In a sneak preview tasting at the winery in late May, the wine showed a rich elegance with supple tannins and intense (and typical) mountain fruit.