Othello, Napa Valley 2016

Region : California       Produced from the historic Napanook vineyard in Yountville, California, Othello is a wine that expresses the singularity of its exceptional terroir and is accessible and enjoyable in its youth.  A Bordeaux blend, the wine is forthcoming with lovely aromas of red fruit, round, silky tannins and an abounding brightness.  It was at the famed Napanook vineyard that Christian Moueix established Dominus Estate in 1983. An historical site, it was the source of fruit for some of the finest Napa Valley wines in the 1940’s and 1950’s. Notably, the vineyard’s history can be traced back to Napa Valley’s beginnings, when in 1838 George Yount, for whom the town of Yountville was named, first planted grapevines there. Today, the vineyard produces three wines: Dominus, its flagship, Napanook, and Othello.  A model for its sustainable farming practices, the Napanook vineyard has been hailed for its dry-farming, which shuns watering the vines, thus spurring them to draw deeply on the land’s unique geology. Meticulous viticultural and winemaking practices are undertaken with the objective of producing wines that are pure, balanced and complex. Minimal intervention and restraint throughout the process of grape berry selection, fermentation and aging preserve the character of the fruit. The resulting wines are an expression of this unique vineyard.      Grape varieties : Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc & Petit Verdot       Tasting notes :        Cool, fresh, but with wonderful definition to the fruit, the 2016 Othello is a charming wine. Notes of ripe plum and cassis, with plenty of grippy tannins, and a lovely salinity on the finish. Very pure, long, and delicious, this shows the very best of Napa.

California