Sarah Francis Beckstoffer Vineyard Georges III Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford Napa Valley 2016

They say everything is bigger in Texas, and so when native Texan Sarah Francis came to the Napa Valley, she did so with clear eyes and a big heart. She also had a determined purpose: to make fine, age-worthy wines of power and elegance. And Kahuna, in the Hawaiian language, refers to an expert in any field. So, we think it’s safe to say Sarah is a Big Kahuna and well-deserving of a spot in the eponymous club this month. Sarah grew up in Dallas, and her grandmother had a few grapevines tucked in the back of her garden. Using her vivid imagination, Sarah would set puppet shows amid the vines, inspiring her future calling working in the vineyard. Her father was an ironworker, in fact, he helped construct the 561-foot-tall Reunion Tower, one of the city’s most recognizable landmarks. And Sarah was destined to be a maker as well, using her hands, resourcefulness, and resolve to craft wines of beauty.

Upon arriving in the Napa Valley two decades ago, with a suitcase and a dream, Sarah set her sights high and sought to work with the fruit of notoriously selective Andy Beckstoffer. He was taken with her verve and passion- she once cried in his presence upon walking the rows of the iconic To Kalon Vineyard for the first time. Andy granted the plucky Sarah some Chardonnay from his Carneros Lake Vineyard and eventually a tiny bit of Cabernet Sauvignon from the revered Georges III Vineyard. Sarah is largely self-taught and counts Aaron Pott (Fe, Blackbird, Seven Stones) and Benoît Touquette (Realm Cellars and Teeter Totter) as her inspirational mentors. Her conviction must be working, as Sarah’s 2013 iteration of this same single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon garnered a perfect 100-point score from Robert Parker himself. Today, Sarah divides her time between Napa and Wyoming, and her daughter Faith Raymer is her assistant winemaker. Faith has also served assistant winemaker to none other than the inimitable Russell Bevan (Tench Vineyards, Institution, Bevan).

The grapes for this wine hail from the storied BeckstofferGeorges III Vineyard, on the east side of Rutherford, hugging the Silverado Trail. This vineyard was planted as early as the 1880s and ranks among the most cherished grape growing sites in the Napa Valley. Sarah’s fruit is sourced specifically from the F-Block, where her corner contains just 4 rows- and a single row in the A block. The grapes were hand-harvested and hand-destemmed in October 2016 and gently placed into 100% custom new French oak barrels. The Cabernet Sauvignon juice was entirely fermented in these barrels, the skins gently pressed, and the wine returned to barrel for an elevageperiod of 29+ months. As to be expected from a Texan, this is a big, complex Cabernet Sauvignon. The nose opens with aromas of graphite, brambly blackberry, and crème brûlée, coupled on the palate with firm tannins, a lift of acidity, and a long finish. This wine was bottled in March 2018, and for three years has been delicately aging for you to enjoy now or in the next 25 years. Hand-sealed, hand-numbered, just 75 cases exist of this larger-than-life wine .