2013 YoungInglewood Cabernet Sauvignon – The Label Sums Up Their Wine
Opened one of our prized Napa Cabernet Sauvignon’s last night. YoungInglewood is one of my top ten Cabernet Sauvignon wines of Napa Valley. It is from a small boutique winery in the southern edge of Saint Helena up against the western mountains in Napa Valley. YoungInglewood is a boutique family run winery, which has consistently produced deep and concentrated red wines. This 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon was aged 22 months in 100% French oak, with 60% being new barrels. Only 300 cases were produced of this vintage. It is a mother/son team heading the wine making, Jacky and Scott Young, for this lush and extremely intense wine. The current release is the 2019 with only 100 cases being produced and sells for $150/bottle.
(Photo ©Michael Kelly)
The Young’s, Jim & Jacky had some many years in France and have purposed to make wines that reflect the traditional roots and values, with a Napa Valley twist. I had written about YoungInglewood in a previous article in 2016 in more detail. You can click on this to read their story at
https://californiawinesandwineries.com/2016/02/16/younginglewood/ .
I have been an admirer of the winery since their inception and have always stated their label of the tightrope walker represents one of the best labels – showing how the winemaker must balance so many facets of the production in order to arrive at the destination with a grand product. This includes vineyard management, canopy trimming, dropping fruit, harvesting at the precise moment to extract the perfect juice, formulating the right blend, keeping tannins and fruit in check, etc. All of this requires the balance and finesse summed up in a tightrope walker!
The Food and Wine Pairing
On the eyes one can only anticipate what the dense dark red and purple juice will taste like. On the nose, aromas of black cherries, raspberry engulf the olfactory senses. On the palate, vanilla, dark chocolate, clove, licorice, plum with a hint of soft lingering pipe tobacco & leather conjoin to make an expression of wine so delicious and yet graceful. The finish is smooth, integral, long and the tannins are present yet controlled. The structure of this wine is excellent. When finished savoring each sip you are left in amazement and awe of experiencing this wine. It could easily go for another 5-8 years in the cellar.
(Photo ©Michael Kelly)
This wine was paired with a seared BBQ’ed Filet Mignon steak served medium rare, asparagus and mushrooms sautéed in olive oil with light spices, an artichoke and a fresh garden salad. The steak was topped off with a dollop of Roquefort cheese and chive butter. With each bite of the steak and sip of this Cabernet Sauvignon was a match made in Heaven. Even Dionysus would celebrate and be proud of this wine! They have made the annual “Best Wines Tasted” yearly since 2014 and this will make the list again!
Sláinte,
Michael
https://californiawinesandwineries.com
http://www.younginglewood.com/
California Wines & Wineries 