J.H. Wheeler Vine Hill Ranch Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville 2019

J.H. Wheeler is the reinvented label from the Araujo family, whose name you might recognize from their previous years as the proprietors of Araujo Estate Wines and the Eisele Vineyard.  After Bart and Daphne decided to sell their esteemed estate in 2012 to Château Latour, they realized they still wanted to remain active in the world of wine.  The two envisioned building a “perfect” place for crafting world-class Napa Valley wines in a traditional agricultural setting.  Enter Chapter Two for the Araujo family and their dedicated team that followed them from their prior estate.  In 2014, Bart and Daphne acquired a historic property on Zinfandel Lane in southern Saint Helena.  Three years later, they opened their doors, focusing on making wines of balance with meticulous attention to detail, just as they had in their earlier era.

This historic property was once home to Wheeler Farms Winery which was first established in 1880 by Charles Wheeler, who built the original winery at the northeast corner of Highway 29 and Zinfandel Lane.  The bountiful Wheeler family property included fruit and nut orchards and grapevines.  Charles’ son, John (J.H.) Wheeler was an early and creative pioneer of viticulture and winemaking in the valley.  Bart and Daphne Araujo’s goal was to continue that legacy by constructing a new winery just down the road from the first, on a parcel of land from the original Wheeler family estate from 1894.  Building on the technological advances that J.H. Wheeler made, the Araujos, with winemaker Nigel Kinsman by their side, have designed a state-of-the-art winery and hospitality space that houses not only their brands, J.H. Wheeler and Accendo, but also other ACME favorites, including Vice Versa, Grazie a Voi, and TOR.

Being deeply rooted in the Napa wine community, the Araujos know about every grape grower with coveted fruit.  In selecting their vineyard partners for the single-vineyard Cabernets of their portfolio, Vine Hill Ranch was a top choice.  The Phillips family of VHR have their famed legacy in Napa as stewards of the historic property, planted ten years before Wheeler’s in 1884.  Long before the Phillips family, the land that would become Vine Hill Ranch was similar to that of the Wheelers, with vineyards planted alongside stone fruit and walnut orchards.  Their grandfather, Bruce Kelham, purchased VHR in the mid-1950s, turning the ranch’s focus to growing grapes for superior wines.  In 1978, Bob & Alex Phillips (Bruce’s children) relocated their family to Vine Hill Ranch and dove deep into the grape-growing business.  They continued the development of the vineyards with the help of vineyard manager Mike Wolf, establishing a reputation for impeccable Cabernet Sauvignon and selling fruit to many notable Napa wineries.

Nigel and the Araujos solidified their partnership with VHR in 2019 and are debuting their 100% Cabernet Sauvignon this year, and ACME is honored to be one of the first to share this wine.  Dark-fruited and full-bodied, this wine shouts “Napa Valley Cabernet!” to the rooftops.  While Oakville’s quintessential fruit-forward aromas are the first impression, the secondary and tertiary hints of dried sage, dark chocolate fudge, and cedar shavings intrigue us.  A clean line of acidity drives through the concentrated palate and will keep the fruit lively and fresh in its later years.  So pop a bottle the next time you’re craving red meat, or lay it down in anticipation of savoring velvety, buffed tannins and matured flavors.