2018 Meadowcroft Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon

Tom Meadowcraft has over 35 years of experience in viticulture and winemaking. His eponymous winery is one of California wine country’s hidden treasures, producing vineyard-specific, limited-release wines that exhibit a regional backbone with European exuberance. Heralded by Bonfort's Wine & Spirits Journal as a top 100 Winery in 2019, this family-owned estate continues its stride toward one of the world's best.

Napa’s Mount Veeder AVA is the only hillside appellation in Napa Valley that adjoins the cool, bayside Carneros benefiting from the cool influence of San Pablo Bay. Meadowcroft Wine’s Mount Veeder Vineyard sits at 1,200 feet elevation. Full of sedimentary clay and volcanic soils, the vineyard’s extremely steep slopes are typically above the fog line. These conditions produce vines with tiny berries that have intense flavor concentration and soft tannins.

Since 2000, Tom Meadowcroft has crafted excellent wines from his Mount Veeder Vineyard, including the 2005 Mount Veeder Estate Cabernet Sauvignon that Wine Enthusiast named a top 100 Cellar Selection. The magazine’s annual list celebrates the most collectible, age-worthy wines that its experts tasted in a given year.

This 2018 Cab Sauv is made from the same vineyards and crafted by Tom and winemaker Petar Kirilov, who after growing up in a winemaking family in Bulgaria, moved to the United States to continue pursuing his passion for wine. And, it comes from the “spectacular” 99-point vintage that Wine Spectator says produced “wines that are rich and dark, but detailed, restrained in style and very terroir-driven.”

The 2018 Mount Veeder Cab Sauv is one of the winery’s best wines—which is saying something because all of Meadowcroft’s wines are high quality. 

Tasting notes: 100% Cabernet Sauvignonn. Aromas of dark chocolate and ripe mountain blueberry explode in tones of black currant, sage, and exotic black pepper.  The palate offers a smooth and tingling acidity, yet also shows length and breadth. Drink through 2030.