Staglin Family Vineyard SALUS Chardonnay Rutherford 2018

In 1985, Garen and Shari Staglin purchased their 62-acre ranch with a 50-acre producing vineyard in the Rutherford Bench in the Napa Valley. Originally planted in the mid-1860's by the Sullivan family (descendants of the de Latours of Bordeaux, the founding family of Beaulieu Vineyards), this unique Rutherford Bench property had been re-planted under the guidance of the legendary André Tchelistcheff in 1963, and for many years was his favorite vineyard for producing the BV Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. It also shares property lines with some of Napa's most famous names: Inglenook, Scarecrow, and the Bella Oaks Vineyard. Since 1986, well regarded vineyard manager David Abreu has been in charge of managing their vineyards, all of which are CCOF farmed organically. Fredrik Johansson, who previously worked with consulting winemaker, Thomas Brown at Outpost Wines on Howell Mountain, and also oversaw several of Thomas' consulting projects, including Schrader Cellars and Maybach Family Vineyards, as their winemaker. Additionally, famed French blending master Michel Rolland consults for Staglin and helps with their final blending decisions. You can see that everything at Staglin is about quality and producing the best possible wines they can from their unique terroir. Their wines personified - a high-roller enjoying the hedonistic pleasures in life. 

The Staglin team utilizes traditional Burgundian winemaking techniques, while respecting the unique quality of the fruit their California vineyard delivers. The grapes are hand sorted, whole cluster pressed and then barrel-fermented. Given the high starting acids, they allowed more of the lots for this cuvee to go through malolactic fermentation to bring additional balance and texture to this wine. 

The 2018 growing season was even and mild – a delightful respite and contrast to the extremes of 2017. A generally dry winter gave way to a wet early spring that fully charged the soil profile with generous and well-timed rains. Ideal conditions during the flowering period allowed for a great set made for an abundant potential crop. The crop load was remarkable not because the number of clusters or the size of the berries, but for the sheer number of berries on each cluster. The grapes were again picked in the cool early mornings to maintain their freshness, natural acidity and delicate flavors. 

The 2018 Salus is rich and expressive with heady aromas of honeysuckle and chamomile surrounding a core of butterscotch inflected citrus and young tropical fruits warmed by subtle spices. Body and texture abound as the swirl of juicy ripe fruits glide across the palate in a seamless flow of unctuous delight kept honest by a refreshing undercurrent of acidity. While wondrously enjoyable now, the dynamic and evolving expression hints that this wine will give more with a little time in bottle. Aged for 10 months is 48% new French oak.