2018 Krupp Brothers Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Stagecoach Vineyard Veraison

Cabernet Sauvignon is probably the most famous red wine grape variety on Earth. It is rivaled in this regard only by its Bordeaux stablemate Merlot, and its opposite number in Burgundy, Pinot Noir. From its origins in Bordeaux, Cabernet has successfully spread to almost every winegrowing country in the world. It is now the key grape variety in many first-rate New World wine regions, most notably Napa Valley, Coonawarra and Maipo Valley. Wherever they come from, Cabernet Sauvignon wines always seem to demonstrate a handful of common character traits: deep color, good tannin structure, moderate acidity and aromas of blackcurrant, tomato leaf, dark spices and cedarwood.

Napa Valley, an hour’s drive north of San Francisco, California, is the most famous and prestigious wine region anywhere in the New World. Although a number of grape varieties are grown in the valley’s vineyards, the area is particularly known for its Cabernet Sauvignon. The classic “Napa Cab”, the archetypal Napa Valley wine, is a rich, oak-aged red with aromas of blackcurrant, boysenberry, liquorice, vanilla and smoky, bittersweet chocolate.

Krupp Bothers winery is the dream of two brothers who nurtured a passion for wine over decades. After setting down roots in the San Francisco Bay Area, Jan – an internist with a private medical practice – pursued his winemaking as a hobby for 15 years. While continuing to commute to his medical practice, Jan moved to Napa in 1991 and began to tend grapes – first planting a vineyard surrounding his family’s house and then with the help of Bart, he would develop what would become one of Napa’s most iconic vineyards, Stagecoach.