2022 Scarecrow - Cabernet Sauvignon Napa (750ml)

Scarecrow's story begins with the J.J. Cohn Estate in Rutherford, a parcel that once bordered Gustave Niebaum's storied Inglenook vineyard on Napa Valley's west side. In 1945, Inglenook's John Daniel Jr. persuaded his neighbor J.J. Cohn to plant eighty acres of Cabernet Sauvignon on the property, even though Cohn had no intention of becoming a winemaker himself. That fruit went on to strengthen wines from Inglenook, Duckhorn, and Joseph Phelps' Insignia over the decades. Today the estate is guided by winemaker Celia Welch and vineyard manager Michael Wolf, and Scarecrow has become one of Napa Valley's most sought-after and tightly allocated Cabernet Sauvignon producers.

The 2022 vintage is built almost entirely from Cabernet Sauvignon, with a small addition of Malbec, grown in Rutherford's well-drained soils along the lower slopes of the Mayacamas Mountains. Fruit is hand-selected from the historic 1945 plantings and neighboring blocks, then aged for twenty-two months in barrels, a majority of them new French oak, a long regimen that builds structure while letting the fruit retain its natural lift.

The wine shows layered aromas of cassis, graphite, smoked tobacco, and dark chocolate, with red and black cherry fruit woven throughout. The palate is full-bodied and velvety, with polished tannins and remarkable length, built to reward extended cellaring. Pair it with grilled ribeye, venison, or a rich beef stew.