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Treasury Wine Estates sets the standard for Californian 2013 vintage

Published:  18 October, 2013

The 2013 Californian wine harvest is set to be "truly outstanding" if a review of some of the premium vineyards of Treasury Wine Estates by Harpers.co.uk is replicated across the state.

The 2013 Californian wine harvest is set to be "truly outstanding" if a review of some of the premium vineyards of Treasury Wine Estates by Harpers.co.uk is replicated across the state.

During a tour of four of Treasury's premium producers - Beringer, Chateau St Jean, Stag's Leap and Etude - it was noticeable how changes in viticulture and winemaking, most specifically the use of less wood, is being reflected in the styles of wine now being made in California, but that still reflect a sense of place.

Laurie Hook, chief winemaker at Beringer, whose main focus is on Beringer's premium wines rather than the commercial ones that dominate its 95-million bottle annual production, admitted she was "definitely pulling back on the amount of new oak" she uses.

Her new Luminus Chardonnay is a good example, the 2012, which becomes available in the UK next year, being aged in 20% new oak.

Balance is very much a watchword of Hook's and it is something the trade will be looking out for as it awaits with interest Beringer's new 'Icon' Cabernet, the first vintage of which was last year and is still in barrel. Only the very best fruit from selected rows (not necessarily the same each year) from its top seven single vineyards in the Napa Valley goes into the Icon, of which only 200 cases will be made each year.  

Hook said the 2013 could be the best Cabernet she has ever made. "We've never seen colours like we have in this vintage, so it's definitely in the running right now," she told Harpers.

Beringer confirmed it is plant early next year a 22-acre block next door to Screaming Eagle's vineyards. With land at such a premium in the valley, such large-scale plantings are extremely rare. The site has 'fantastic soil for Cabernet' according to Beringer's viticulturalist, Will Drayton.

Another highlight of Treasury's premium portfolio is Chateau St. Jean's 2010 Cinq Cepages. Released in the US at the beginning of October, with worldwide exports commencing early next year, this Sonoma County blend, which comprises 78% Cabernet and the other four main Bordeaux  varietals, comes from the Alexander, Dry Creek, Knights and Sonoma Valleys.  "It's one of the most complex Cinq Cepages I've made," said chief winemaker, van Staaveren.

Christophe Paubert, winemaker at Stags' Leap, said he has reduced the amount of new oak from 75 to 50% in the latest vintage of the winery's flagship Cabernet, The Leap 2010. This, and Stags' Leap other famous wine, the 'Ne Cede Malis' will be released in Europe on January 1.]

* You can read Geoffrey Dean's full analysis of Treasury Wine Estates Californian premium wineries in his special report here.

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