From 1991 to 1997, Araujo produced a single-barrel cuvée of Eisele vines planted in 1964 on St George rootstocks, common in older Napa Valley vineyards but now largely extinct. I tasted this wine next to the standard 1994 Araujo Eisele Cabernet, and the difference was stunning and educational. It functioned conversely to other old-vine vs young-vine experiences I've had, where the more mature vines usually produce the deeper, more dense wine. In this case, the Vieilles Vignes was considerably more ethereal and weightless, while sacrificing none of the intensity and depth of flavour present in the regular bottling. It felt a bit like a time-traveller: a modern wine sourced from ingredients of another age. One of the greatest and most unique Napa Cabernets I have ever tasted.

The Cabernet Sauvignon comes from the renowned Eisele Vineyard, which has a long history of producing stunning wines (the Ridge 1971 Eisele Vineyard, the Conn Creek 1974, the Phelps 1976 Insignia, and the 1975 and 1978 Eisele Vineyard Cabernets). At present, the Araujos limit production of their estate Cabernet Sauvignon to approximately 2,500 cases. It is a wine that combines the extraordinary power and richness of this hot area of Napa, with stunning purity and delineation. The 1994 Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele Vineyard is just beginning to emerge from a period of post-bottling dormancy. Like its siblings, it exhibits an impressively saturated dark purple color. This wine is intent on revealing its charms at a relatively early age given its knock-out aromatics. Although slightly less powerful than the 1993 and marginally less concentrated than the 1995, the 1994 is still a profoundly rich, silky-textured wine with an uncanny balance between its smooth tannin and layers of cassis and blackberry/mineral-tinged fruit. This wine is particularly impressive if it is first decanted for 45 or so minutes. It will age well for 15-20 years. As is evident after tasting the wines from Araujo Estate in Napa Valley, this is a formidably run winery dedicated to producing exceptionally high quality wines. Readers should try and get on the mailing list, or at least on the waiting list for the mailing list! Tel. (707) 942-6061; Fax (707) 942-6471