2011 Syrah Eisele Vineyard Napa Valley

Following the purchase of Araujo Estate last year by France's Pinault family, not much has changed yet--and that's a good thing, too, as the estate's very warm Eisele Vineyard is one of Napa Valley's proven first growths for cabernet.In fact, in 2011 the vines had mostly finished flowering when the early rains hit, said winemaker Nigel Kinsman.The very cool summer required "a lot of canopy work" and the harvest here began at the end of September.To make the 2012 cabernet, Kinsman carried out two weeks of post-fermentation maceration.

Nigel Kinsman, who took over winemaking at Araujo with the 2010 harvest, describes that vintage as "restrained, without the standard California opulence.The tannins were difficult to extract and the wines needed longer in tank to extract--up to 40 days."But the estate's flagship wine has a wonderful framework for a long life in bottle.Incidentally, the 2010 version of Alta Gracia was the first to include some fruit from off the estate (from St. Helena and Oakville), and it appears to be the best vintage yet for this bottling.Araujo does not refer to the Alta Gracia as its second wine; rather, Kinsman calls it "our Bordeaux blend," pointing out that the flagship wine is typically 94% or 95% cabernet sauvignon.According to long-time consulting winemaker Francoise Peschon, who continues to serve in an advisory role here, the team did "a huge sorting" in 2011, and the newer vintage has a slightly higher pH and lower acidity than 2010.