Beaulieu Vineyard — A Napa Valley Icon

Beaulieu or "Beautiful Place," was named by owner Georges de Latour's wife, Fernande de Latour, in 1900 and soon became a leading, iconic Napa Valley winery. Georges sold his cream of tartar business, immersing himself into winemaking. He imported pest-resistant vines and established his own nursery to graft rootstocks to vine stock, even selling them to other vintners. Andre Tchelistcheff was a working for the Pasteur Institute when Latour hired him as his first winemaker in 1938. Tchelistcheff tasted the 1936 vintage of the family's personal wine, which they referred to as "Private Reserve" and insisted it be bottled and sold as the producer's flagship offering. This release became Napa Valley's first "cult" wine and remains a Napa benchmark cabernet. Beaulieu Vineyard or B.V., survived Prohibition by selling altar wine, actually purchasing significantly more new winemaking equipment and quadrupling production during this period. Altar wine is one of several ties to the Cleveland Hammer Wine family, as the late George de Latour Hammer was the godson of Georges de Latour, one of the ways company's forged connections to their business partners in those days. Tchelistcheff, "The Maestro of Napa Valley," was Russian and an innovator in winemaking, revolutionizing the process for Beaulieu and all California producers. He introduced hygienic winemaking improvements, encouraged cold fermentation to preserve fruit in the wines, introduced aging in small oak barrels for complexity, encouraged small-lot fermentations, integrated vineyard frost protection methods, standardized red wine Malo-lactic conversion and developed new winemaking regions in Carneros, California, Oregon and Washington. In their 120-year history, B.V. has only had five winemakers. Their wines have been served at many occasions at the White House during several administrations and at events in honor of Sir Anthony Eden, Charles De Gaulle, Winston Churchill, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip. Their Georges de Latour Private Reserve cabernet sauvignon still enjoys a passionate following from afficionados and collectors alike. Below are notes on some premium B.V. wines I tasted recently. It was apparent the winery is still obsessed with quality: Tapestry Reserve 2020 ($65) — A tribute to Bordeaux's complex red blends, a combination of cabernet sauvignon combined with other Bordeaux varietals. Rich, textured and lingering with supple tannins, a personal favorite since its first release many years ago. Cabernet Franc Reserve 2020 ($75) — Franc is commonly used to add softness and nuance to cabernet sauvignon, but stands well on its own when perfectly ripe. Deep ruby. Very attractive, open rich fruit with firm structure. Lovely. Cabernet "Ranch One" 2020 ($95) — From an early 1900's vineyard. Deep hue. Black cherry overtones, rich flavors and texture with great length. Cabernet "Ranch Two" 2020 ($95) — Quite expressive. Fruit sourced from the southern Rutherford Bench. Spicy, aromatic aromas, alcohol more forward than Ranch One. Dark cherry notes with orange and tangerine nuances. Clone 6 Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 ($190) — A forgotten vineyard experiment. Cuttings were taken back to U.C. Davis and propagated. Deep color from low-yielding clusters. Very demonstrative and complex with abundant flavor, hinting at chocolate, cocoa, black cherry, oak and spice. An important component of the reserve wines and a stunning example on its own. Georges de Latour Reserve 2020 ($160) — Still a benchmark Napa cabernet that started the craze for collectors of the valley's finest wines. Moderately deep ruby. Very aromatic and nuanced with layers of texture showing chocolate-covered cherry overtones. Ripe yet elegant with moderate acidity. Exceptional. Showing well in its youth, with excellent cellar potential. Madame de Latour 2019 ($190) — Southern Napa cabernet with 29 percent malbec. Shows dark color and fruit with inky concentration. Rich style with mineral, firm alcohol and length. Experience some history! Gary Twining is a certified wine educator who worked 34 years in the wholesale fine wine industry. Email him at winingwithtwining@hotmail.com.