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Complant Beller Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2018  - ACME Fine Wines
$93 750mL
SOLD OUT
  •  
  • Blend86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Petit Verdot
  • CountryUSA
  • RegionCalifornia
  • Sub-RegionNapa Valley
  • VineyardBeller Vine
  • Oak22% New Bordeaux Barrels
  • Alcohol13.56%
  • Production221 cases
  •  

Complant Beller Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2018

  • Vintage2018
  • VarietyCabernet Sauvignon
  • AppellationMt Veeder
  • WinemakerDaniel Baron

The father and son duo of Complant Wines could not have been further apart on the spectrum of winemaking career paths before intersecting to form their family label in 2017.  Daniel Baron (aka Dad) and Sam Baron (aka Son) ventured down seemingly opposite routes.  One trained and worked under traditional, old-world winemakers, and the other sought new techniques and explored the world of natural wine.  Whether it’s an example of the student becoming the teacher or a sage mentor imparting wisdom to the next generation (we presume it’s genuinely a bit of both), one fact is true: the wines these two are crafting have met harmoniously at the center of their styles, showing that there is something to be said about both old-school and new-school approaches. 

Daniel Baron began his wine career in the vineyards at Chateau Montelena and then moved west to Anderson Valley in the late 1970s, where he assisted in winemaking at Navarro.  In search of mentorship and education, Daniel traveled to Bordeaux in 1981 with the intention of a year-long harvest internship.  Instead, the fateful trip turned into two harvests at the benchmark Chateau Petrus, where he studied under longtime winemaker Jean-Claude Berrouet.  And Daniel’s association with Christian Moueix led him back to California and launched a twelve-year career at Dominus.  After working at Dominus, Daniel became Director of Winemaking at Silver Oak Cellars, where he aided in the launch of Twomey Cellars and spent 23 vintages. 

Daniel’s eldest son, Sam, expressed interest in the industry early and followed in his father’s footsteps, earning a degree in Viticulture and Enology from UC Davis.  However, Sam set out into winemaking looking through entirely different lens.  While at UC Davis, Sam and a subset of his peers became engrossed in the potential of low-intervention winemaking practices, along with sustainable and bio-dynamic farming.   Throughout his internships in Napa Valley, Burgundy, and New Zealand, Sam sought ways to apply the science he learned at Davis while producing and promoting wines that spoke entirely of place with minor manipulation.  As a result, Sam founded the Living Wine Collective, which includes natural wine labels Les Lunes Wines & Populis, before taking his current position as Winemaker at Kivelstadt Cellars in Sonoma. 

The Baron Family has a shared fondness for learning, and despite retiring from wine in 2017, Daniel felt there was more to be gained in starting a label with his son.  Bringing together time-honored traditions with a forward-thinking mindset, the two once said, “our goal is to use artisanal practices and minimal intervention to produce delicious wines of vibrancy that seamlessly express time, place, and the cultivated vine, the Complant.”  Complant is an antiquated French term referring to a cultivated vine or tree that produces fruit, and the term highlights for the Barons the critical interplay of humans and plants when it comes to making wine. 

Their 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon hails from the Beller Vineyard on the western edge of Mt Veeder.  A blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon and 14% Petit Verdot co-fermented with native yeast after a late September harvest.  The wine was aged in 22% new Bordeaux barrels for 17 months, with gentle racking every three months using the soutirage traditonnel (using gravity versus pumping) to ensure minimal disturbance of the wine.  Intoxicating cassis, tart cherry, pine forest, and sandalwood aromas swirl from the glass of this deeply garnet wine.  A full-bodied palate showcases black fruits, sage, and soft baking spices, with integrated, delicate tannins.

  •  
  • Blend86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Petit Verdot
  • CountryUSA
  • RegionCalifornia
  • Sub-RegionNapa Valley
  • VineyardBeller Vine
  • Oak22% New Bordeaux Barrels
  • Alcohol13.56%
  • Production221 cases
  •