2011 Cabernet Sauvignon

I am not sure anyone expected Bart and Daphne Araujo to sell their estate to Francois Pinault's Artemis Group, which also owns Chateau Latour, Domaine de l'Eugenie and a number of other properties. In retrospect, the sale can't be too surprising, given where the Araujos are in their lives, especially if the purchase price was generous. If anything, there are plenty of other properties with significant values and owners more or less of the same generation, which is to say I will not at all be surprised to see Artemis or another group purchase other top-flight Napa properties over the next few years. Another interesting strategy might be to purchase the estates surrounding Araujo to create an estate with more scale, something that might be of interest to a large, global buyer. In any event, the purchase of an iconic Napa property by a well-respected international group bring additional visibility and prestige to Napa Valley, and that is likely to be a huge positive. Since acquiring Araujo, Artemis has installed Frenchman Antoine Donnedieu to manage the transition until Frederic Engerer hires a General Manager and added winemaker Helene Mingot, who had previously worked with Stephane Derenoncourt, to the winemaking team. It is unclear yet what direction Araujo Estate will take over the coming years, but it would be naive to think there will be no changes, because if that were the case there would have been no reason to buy the business. What is clear is that Araujo's 2011s are stellar. I started tasting these wines in the Spring of 2012 and have followed them ever since, with regular tastings every six months. The 2011s are the result of the brilliant work of winemakers Nigel Kinsman and Francoise Peschon. Unlike many Napa Valley estates, Araujo also controls vineyard management in house, and in a year where Kinsman was changing picks daily in response to shifting weather, it is pretty clear the team led by Vineyard Manager Caleb Mosley did a stellar job. The experience of consulting winemaker Michel Rolland - no stranger to cold, difficult vintages - in the blending can't possibly be underestimated in a year like 2011. In 2011, Kinsman opted for slightly short macerations, but was not shy in giving both Cabernets 100% new oak, all of which the wines have handled and apparently needed. The Altagracia was bottled about 2 months earlier than normal, while the Eisele Vineyard was bottled a month earlier than normal. Readers who want to learn more about the 2011 harvest at Araujo might enjoy this short video I shot with Bart Araujo in October 2011.