Exclusively Napa Valley

Exclusively Cabernet Sauvignon

Secret Door Winery has chosen to work exclusively with the Cabernet Sauvignon grape within the Napa Valley.

When we say “exclusively” Cabernet Sauvignon we mean 100% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes go into SECRET DOOR wines. This is not intended to be a dismissal of other strategies in making great red wine from California that might include blending other grapes and other vineyards together to create a balanced and complete wine. That’s up to them. Our intent and our goal is to create 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wines that reveal the ultimate potential of this extraordinary place – the Napa Valley.

We are all working toward the same goal – all winemakers are – to create something really memorable, truly distinct and pleasurable with wine. There is no single road to this end. While others choose to blend together other varieties with Cabernet Sauvignon we choose not to. Our choice is based on experience and the knowledge that great Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards can stand alone and reveal something special about a time and place. This is something our winemaker – Donald Patz – has experienced and wants to share the same sensation with you. Pure, 100% Cabernet Sauvignon given every opportunity to reveal its potential is our signature.

Given the goal – 100% Cabernet Sauvignon – the choice of vineyards is going to be critical. Some sites produce an interesting with that might be lacking in some character and require blending to make it shine. We are not looking for that kind of vineyard site. Instead, our search of the Napa Valley has been to find those rare vineyards where the wine can sing on its own without  the addition of other varieties (we are talking about  Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec or Petite Verdot). We believe we have two such sites in the 2017 portfolio.

HIRONDELLE VINEYARD – Stags Leap District – Napa Valley; is once such site. Our tiny plot within this much larger vineyard is producing a wine that speaks to its special location within the Napa Valley. Stags Leap District. More on this vineyard elsewhere on the website but these vines planted in 1996 at the epicenter of the Stags Leap District are revealing all the extraordinary aroma/flavor profile of this area.

SAGE RIDGE VINEYARD – Eastern Napa Mountains – Napa Valley; while you may not have heard of this vineyard yet you certainly will from more than just SECRET DOOR WINERY. A bevy of hot Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon producers have grabbed this site in the mountains above Lake Hennessy and are about to catapult it into superstardom. Also, more about this vineyard elsewhere but in addition to the tiny parcel #38 that we got in 2017 they are planting two other small pieces specifically for SECRET DOOR WINERY.

We’ll be telling you more about these two vineyards in the future.

Virtue of Location.

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Due to very limited production, our wines are sold on an allocation basis only. Contact us if you are interested in joining our list. Grapes from Napa Valley, California – one of the world’s finest growing areas for Cabernet Sauvignon vines.

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