2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Cask

Winemaker Philippe Bascaules continues to ratchet up quality at Inglenook. The 2011s are solid across the board, quite an achievement as harvest was already under way when Bascaules arrived from Chateaux Margaux that fall. Production is about 50% of normal, but the wines are quite pretty. Beginning in 2012, Inglenook has a new entry-level Cabernet Sauvignon, while the Cask and Rubicon Cabernets show improvement. Among the biggest changes Bascaules has implemented are earlier harvest dates and less new oak. I can imagine some readers may be put off by the heavy commercial feel of the Inglenook winery, but these are increasingly serious wines that merit attention.

Trial by fire. That certainly applies to Inglenook's new winemaker, Philippe Bascaules, who arrived during the 2011 harvest from Chateau Margaux. Production is way down. Inglenook bottled 4,500 cases of the flagship Rubicon rather than the more customary 7,000. Although Inglenook's 2011s are strong, with the 2012 this venerable estate takes a big leap forward, something that was reinforced as I revisited the 2010s, wines that in comparison to the 2011s and 2012s come across as very extracted. The 2012s are strikingly beautiful, but very young and almost raw in their sheer power. In 2012 the Cask and Rubicon Cabernets are more similar in style and close in terms of quality than in the recent past, which Bascaules attributes to the overall quality of the year. Today Inglenook is harvesting a bit earlier than in the past and the wines are being made more gently, especially when it comes to extractions. Owner Francis Ford Coppola and his new team led by viticultural consultant Stephane Derenoncourt and Bascaules have done a fabulous job with these wines. For more on Inglenook, readers may want to check out my video interviews with Coppola and Bascaules, both shot in October 2011.

Proprietor Francis Ford Coppola continues to move forward with his project to restore Inglenook, one of Napa Valley's historic estates, to its previous glory. Coppola has certainly been willing to put everything on the line, bringing in viticulturist Stéphane Derenoncourt in 2008 and winemaker Philippe Bascaules, from Château Margaux, in 2011. Naturally, it is too early to see the results of these two very high-profile hires, but count me among those who are highly interested to see what develops here over the next few years. There are now essentially two Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines. The Cask is made from vineyards on the front portion of the property bordering Highway 29, while Rubicon is made from vineyards located at the back of the estate. Inglenook will no longer bottle other single-variety wines.