We have visited the property several times; it feels magical — an escape to another time. The driveway is long and lined with Sycamore trees leading to gardens with a European feel. The surrounding vineyards are highly pedigreed. This cellar still exists and in was converted into a private wine storage facility for clients known as the Rutherford Wine Vault some of whom store very old vintages of Beaulieu Vineyard wines.
Beaulieu Vineyard has seen a number of ownership changes since the de Latours; today it is owned by Treasury Wine Estates. Eventually his family moved to France where he met Georges De Latour in Paris — who was in France looking for a new winemaker for Beaulieu Vineyard to succeed his consulting enologist Leon Bonnet Emeritus Professor at University of California, Berkele who retired in It was Leon who recommended de Latour meet Tchelistcheff. The car was passed on to an employee who used it for farm work and later for hunting rabbits in the vineyards and also deer.
At that time it was in bad shape, dusty and beaten from its later years of hard work. It was painstakingly restored after about hours of work. The interior is impeccable — a window completely separates the passengers from the driver. Communication is through a microphone connected to a speaker enabling the passengers to speak with the driver when they wish.
And creatively, the rear view mirror is bucked via a leather strap to one of the spare tires. The car is currently housed within the old winery until it can be displayed to the public.
There are only a handful of these particular cars left on the planet. He stayed with Beaulieu Vineyard for some 35 years before retiring in during that time he also operated his own private lab — the Napa Valley Enological Research Laboratory and Napa Valley Enological Center — on the second floor in the historic Richie Building in downtown St. Helena from through Martini and Lee Stewart of Souverain. He returned to Beaulieu Vineyard in a limited capacity in the early s working with then winemaker Joel Aiken.
His son Dimitri died was also an accomplished winemaker providing his services in Mexico, Hawaii and in the Napa Valley and also consulting for Beauliu Vineyard especially during the s.
He provided, in his own soul, this extraordinary combination of science and poetry. He was uniquely and surpassingly, perhaps, gifted with this combination of those two aspects at a very high level. To the unsuspecting employee, this just simply a small storage space.
But to a very privileged few over the decades, a set which only included each primary Beaulieu Vineyard winemaker who was always sworn to secrecy by the previous winemaker, this was much more than a broom closet. It smells like an attic up here and if for someone reason someone ever found this hidden entrance there would be no cause to suspect a hidden storage area.
Within the attic is a small door leading to a side storage room. Not even Heublein knew about this secret room during their period of ownership. Trevor discovered this room in when he was offered to choose a bottle of wine by prior winemaker, Jeffrey Stambor. Trevor chose a bottle of Georges de Latour Private Reserve, a noted exceptional year. And since then, the secret is out — the older bottles having been removed to store under more optimal conditions.
His passion flows easily from his personality; he loves what he is doing and is an integral part of this chapter of Beaulieu Vineyard. And it is a very important one — taking an even more detailed look at their viticulture practices, fine-tuning fermentations and improving quality in the cellar, returning to their Rutherford roots and heritage to some extent, and overseeing the transformation of the original winery into what will become a world class hospitality and historical center. Or for a more extensive historical look at the winery and the life of the de Latours, Private Reserve , by author Rod Smith who happened to be married to one of our neighbors while growing up with contemporary photos by Andy Katz father of Jesse Katz who owns a winery near Healdsburg in neighboring Sonoma County is an excellent read.
The first vintage was made by early winemaker at Bealieu Vineyard, Joseph Ponti relative of the Tonella family who would much later begin S. Tonella Cellars. The wine was even made in when a fire that year destroyed much of the winery. It is a wine that is often pursued by collectors and has been showcased at number of premier functions over the years, including at the White House and for Hollywood events such as the Emmy awards.
And it is a wine that has certainly inspired numerous consumers over the years — and in at least one case the inspiration to start a winery.
However the barriers to entry at that time were to great for an American couple to own a winery in Bordeaux. This wine changed their perceptions of California wine — and after this bottle they realized that perhaps they could start looking for property in California rather then France.
The sandy, loamy soils of this three-mile-wide stretch produce unique texture and flavour in its wines: an elusive sensation of ultra-dark chocolate and tang of iron that aficionadoes refer to as Rutherford dust. It remains a benchmark of excellence; these sprightly year-olds now stand alongside it. The most striking thing about the wines was how incredibly viable they were — bright, vibrant, dusty sweet tannins washed with juice — these are wines for the table, not for a tasting room.
The magnum, by comparison, was fresh, a wonderful bright ruby hue, the palate still with hints of primary cassis. A splendid wine. And these wines are alive. Durling had to bring up another bottle of the 67 and opened it before the sediment had settled it had been lying on its side for half a century.
In , Beaulieu Vineyard released the first vintage of Private Reserve and named it Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon , in honor of our founder who passed away the previous year I want all of my wines to be that good. To continue Tchelistcheff's legacy of innovation, Beaulieu Vineyard made several investments in the early s.
First, a new state-of-the-art winemaking facility was completed in , which is dedicated to the production of our flagship wine — Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. This facility utilizes the latest technology in combination with time-honored traditions to produce this exceptional wine that has been widely recognized as the benchmark Cabernet Sauvignon from Rutherford since its inaugural vintage.
And in , legendary winemaker Michel Rolland joined Beaulieu Vineyard as a blending consultant on our reserve wines. Subsequent vintages of the Georges de Latour Private Reserve went on to earn 98 points.
We are proud of our high-quality wine reputation and work hard on continuous adjustments as technology advances. This legacy of innovation continues today with Trevor Durling as our chief winemaker. Trevor joined Beaulieu Vineyard as only the fifth winemaker in years.
Throughout the s and s, Beaulieu Vineyard wines were the wines of state, being served at dinners and receptions honoring some of the great people of the age. Today we persist with the spirit of innovation de Latour and Tchelistcheff instilled to continue producing exceptional wines that stand among the world's finest. Jean in Sonoma Valley will move to Beringer late this year or early in The tasting room and hospitality events at the chateau will continue.
Most of the vineyards getting investments are Diageo vineyards. I would not say they were neglected, but they need a little TLC.
0コメント