Frogs Leap Estate Grown Cabernet Sauvignon

Description

Frogs Leap Estate Grown Cabernet Sauvignon is the estate’s flagship red wine. It is the culmination of founder John Williams’  vision to produce an entirely estate-grown Cabernet inspired by the wines Inglenook and Beaulieu Vineyard. The first vintage was released in 2012.

Family-owned Frog’s Leap was founded by John Williams and Larry Turley in 1981 on a spot along Mill Creek known as the Frog Farm. The first wine released in 1982 was a Sauvignon Blanc made with grapes bought from Spottswoode. Larry Turley would eventually sell his share in Frog’s Leap to the Williams family in 1993 setting up as Turley Wine Cellars at the Frog Farm site leaving the Williams family looking for a new home. 

In 1994 the winery moved to the historic Red Barn with 31 acres of vines in the heart of the Rutherford AVA a sub-appellation of the Napa Valley. This move was pivotal for the development of Frog’s Leap wines, allowing them to control their own farming practices and establish themselves as a Rutherford winery. Over the years, additional vineyards were acquired, including the historic Rossi Ranch, just a few miles from the Red Barn, in 2007. John’s son, Rory, formally joined the company in 2012 and was appointed Vice President of Winemaking and Viticulture in 2021. By utilizing the finest organically dry-grown grapes from Napa Valley and employing traditional winemaking techniques, Frog’s Leap aims to produce wines that authentically reflect the “Rutherford Dust” soils and climate from which they originate.

Frogs Leap Estate Grown Cabernet Sauvignon results from years of effort with organic viticulture, dry farming and minimal cellar intervention yielding a wine that could not be produced outside of the 10 square miles that define its appellation. The 2018 blend is 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot and 6% Cabernet Franc. The grapes are sourced from 39% Red Barn vineyard, 31% Chavez-Leeds vineyard, and 30% Rossi vineyard, all in Rutherford. The vineyards are 100% certified organic and dry-farmed, the vines have an average of 17 years of age and are planted in the gravelly loams of the Pleasanton and Cortina soil series.

The grapes were destemmed and crushed into a tank, where fermentation occurred solely with natural yeasts. This fermentation lasted between 7 and 10 days, with open-hose pump-overs performed three times a day to mix the skins and promote gentle extraction. Natural malolactic fermentation is completed in the barrel. Over the 20 months of maturation in French oak barrels (20% new), the wine was racked five times. Bottled unfined and unfiltered.

What is “Rutherford Dust”?

“Rutherford Dust” refers to the unique terroir found in the Rutherford AVA of Napa Valley, California. This term describes the distinct combination of soil, climate, and grape-growing conditions that contribute to the character of wines produced in the region. It has become synonymous with the high-quality wines produced in the Rutherford AVA.