The initial release of the 2014 vintage Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is different from wines that will follow. We were offered an amazing opportunity to purchase a wine still in progress that very much is in the style and quality that Secret Door Winery is striving for. We chose to begin our new project like this only because the wines were so special.
The2014 vintage Secret Door Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon was purchased in barrel from an unnamed winery who initially intended it as their primary $300/bottle wine. We don’t really know why they changed their mind, but it is not because the wines lacked the quality to stand in that elite group. Secret Door took over the wine while in barrel and finished it.
The proof of this is in the bottle and sneak preview tastes with Cabernet Sauvignon lovers have been nothing less than sensational. The true sources and story behind the wine will have to (by NDA contract) remain… SECRET. It seemed like the perfect kind of way to start a winery called – SECRET DOOR.
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All older vintage wines have been purchased from a single collectors cellar. Pictures can be requested before shipment.
In 1992 the Hill-Smith family counted themselves amongst those fortunate enough to own a vineyard upon the famous Coonawarra terra rossa soil over limestone. Experimentation, innovation, minimalist intervention and small batch winemaking has resulted in The Menzies’ reputation as a wine of longevity, elegance and structure.
Deep crimson with a plum hue. Aromas of fresh blackcurrants, mulberry, ozone, violets and exotic spices. Take a sip and you will feel the poise and tension for which great Cabernet is renowned. A wine of great complexity with flavors of blackcurrant jubes, bitter chocolate and mulberries, wrapped in divine tannins and a lovely sweet, dark fruit finish. With decanting in its youth it is enjoyable as an elegant full-bodied red wine.
Wonderful with a chargrilled rib eye on the bone or porcini mushroom, thyme and quinoa risotto.
Review:
Prune plums and blackcurrants. Violets, lavender leaf and black cherry. Olive tapenade, rosemary and crushed black peppercorn. The wine is held together by a fine mesh of grape and subtle oak tannins, intertwined with pure Coonawarra cabernet fruit. It’s chiselled in its dimension, and you might miss it, as it has such great drinking pleasure. Fruit purity, lovingly handled equals total seduction.
- Australian Wine Companion 95 Points