Napa terroir with a French accent

Snowden Vineyards has always been involved at the very top end of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon production. From the early days of selling grapes to Stag's Leap, their high altitude fruit has always been sought-after.

They've been bottling their own wine since 1993, first with the services of Cabernet guru David Ramey. The winemaker now is Diana Snowden Seysses - married to Jeremy Seysses of Domaine Dujac where she is also cellar master. That's where we've always met her. Although she'd grown up around vines since she was a kid, it was in 1997 that she started what will be a lifelong involvement with wine, training at UC Davis and spending a long time interning at Araujo.

Snowden's 24 acres of vineyard sit around the 800 foot mark and are only a fraction of the estate, the bulk being ancient woodland. They take the long view, replanting when necessary, and - as you may imagine - terroir is the driver of Diana's decisions. In the cellar she's concerned with fruit, of course, but the texture of the wine - and the balance - are at the heart of her thinking. We're immensely pleased to be able to offer this wine. It's been in our sights for a while. /CW