O'Shaughnessy Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

Midwesterners Betty O’Shaughnessy Woolls and Paul Woolls are the proud stewards of the Napa Valley land upon which O'Shaughnessy estate is located. Betty fell in love with the beauty of the land, the vineyards and the climate, and then in 1990, she landed in Oakville with a parcel of land including vineyards and a home site. Betty reconnected with her deep-rooted appreciation of the soil and the bounties it brings. Over the next few years, additional vineyards on Howell Mountain and Mount Veeder added to the source available for varieties of grapes. The new century brought a cave, grapes crushed into wine and a design for a winery structure. The project was completed in time for the 2003 harvest. 

Founding winemaker, Sean Capiaux, has established a notable career over the past 30 years at prominent wineries around the globe. He began his career at Jordan Winery in Sonoma County’s Alexander Valley; in Perth, Australia, he worked on the winemaking team at the Houghton Winery; and later returned to the United States to become the assistant winemaker at Pine Ridge Winery in the Stags Leap district. Peter Michael Winery tapped him to become their assistant winemaker where he worked for four years. Sean spent several years as a bicoastal winemaker attending to wines both on Long Island and in California before coming to O’Shaughnessy.

This is a classic Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon with an opaque purple color and perfumed aromas of blackberry compote, orange blossom, cassis, crème brulée, and cocoa. On the palate the wine is plush and concentrated with well-integrated tannins and a vibrant finish. Lush enough to be consumed now and structured enough to hold for decades thanks to the mountain heritage of this beautiful wine.  

This wine is getting quite a bit of talk around the valley as it is the only Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon made from estate vineyards on Mount Veeder, Howell Mountain and Oakville. Yes, these are the same vineyards O'Shaughnessy uses for their Howell Mountain and Mount Veeder bottlings. The Oakville vineyard has been given a lot of time and attention by Sean and the team over the last several years to truly maximize this site. This Napa Cabernet is often taken home by the staff and is currently a favorite of Betty and Paul's. They particularly enjoy it with a couple additional years of cellaring.