My favorite of the 2014 appellation releases, the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon St. Helena Estate (80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Petit Verdot) is a beautiful, medium to full-bodied, balanced 2014 that has copious amounts of blackcurrants, toasted spices, dried earth and lead pencil all emerging from the glass. With fine tannin and a great finish, it’s a terrific Napa Cabernet Sauvignon that can be drunk today or cellared for 10-15 years.\n Producer Information\n Merryvale Vineyards is a Napa Valley winery that has been associated with the rise of several well-known names in California winemaking. Situated in the St Helena AVA (American Viticultural Area), Merryvale is best known for familiar Napa varieties including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Chardonnay. The Merryvale Vineyards winery has a rich history, built in 1933 by Jack Riorda and several of his business partners and was christened Sunnyhill Winery. It was soon renamed Sunny St Helena Winery. Cesare Mondavi, the father of Robert Mondavi, was one of the early partners and, by the late 1930s, Sunny St Helena was producing more than 3 million liters of bulk wine annually. In the 1940s the winery was sold to a Napa Valley cooperative and operated as such for a number of years, before changing hands again and becoming a storage and aging site. In the early 1980s, the winery was bought by Bill Harlan, the founder of one of the earliest cult wineries, Harlan Estate, which was still fledgling at the time. Harlan restored the winery by 1988 and, in 1991, changed the name to Merryvale Vineyards. In 1996, one of Harlan's partners, Jack Schlatter, became the sole owner. Merryvale Vineyard's flagship wine is the Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. That being said, Merryvale offers more expensive Cabernet Sauvignon exclusively to members of its mailing list, sourced from smaller sub AVAs including St Helena where the winery is based. Other varieties include, but are not limited to Merlot, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, with offerings from single vineyards and sub-AVAs reserved for the mailing list. Merryvale Vineyards is part of the Merryvale Family of Wines along with Profile Collection, Starmont Wines, and Forward Kidd.
