This small operation is located just below the Dalla Valle vineyard near the Oakville Cross. Screaming Eagle's Cabernet Sauvignons are going to create quite a stir among lovers of that varietal - if they are able to latch onto a bottle or two. The estate is owned by Tony Bowden and Jean Phillips, one of Napa Valley's leading real estate agents. With the help of Heidi Barrett and Gustav Dalla Valle, this operation's debut vintage is the extraordinary 1992 Cabernet Sauvignon, one of the greatest young Cabernets I have ever tasted. The wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered, and aged in 60% new oak. It is only sold via a mailing list, so readers who want to taste one of the most exciting young wines being produced should get on the list. The 175 cases of the 1992 are followed by only 130 cases of the 1993, and a tiny quantity of 1994, as the last two vintages were even smaller in crop size. At present, the 1992 can be bought at the following Napa Valley locations: the restaurants Don Giovanni and Brava, and at the St. Helena Wine Center and Oakville Grocery. Don't dilly-dally around on this one.The 1992 Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon is exceptionally impressive. The wine's opaque purple color is followed by a sensational nose of jammy blackcurrants and subtle toasty oak. As stunning as the aromatics are, the wine reveals even greater richness and intensity on the palate, offering up layers of stunningly proportioned, ripe, intense fruit, full body, great purity, and an inner-core of sweet, creamy, highly extracted blackcurrant/cassis fruit. The tannin is nearly concealed behind the massive extract and richness. All the component parts are brilliantly focused and in balance. The finish is awesome! This is a spectacular debut release that should age effortlessly for 20 years. Screaming Eagle is one of the most exciting new wineries in California. Address: Screaming Eagle Winery and Vineyard, P.O. Box 134, Oakville, CA 94562; tel. (707) 944-0749
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