Burgess Cellars
2008 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon •Burgess Estate Vineyards
California: Napa Valley
Mission Briefing
Beggarman Red
Sell Out Alert: We purchased all available cases of today’s wine, but it will sell out.
The Wine Spies offer up a huge thank you to Burgess Cellars for allowing us special access to the final allocation of today’s fantastic 2008 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. The winery was set to relegate all of their remaining cases to their private library. Wineries do this when supply of a great wine begins to dwindle. They offered us [REDACTED] cases, but Agent Red begged for more… and got just a few more cases for our Operatives. All of us here at Wine Spies HQ are grateful to have any cases of this fantastic wine.
This delicious Cabernet Sauvignon is everything we’d expect from Burgess. Layer upon layer of rich, dark fruits cascade across the palate. Flavors and feel are elegant and balanced. The wine finishes long and slightly drying, with flavors of dark fruit, earth and subtle spice that cling to the edges of the palate for a long time.
Decant this beauty for best results. Enjoy with a richer meals. Order soon.
Tasting Profile
| Look: | Deep, deep crimson through and through, with just a hint of a lighter ruby at the rim. |
|---|---|
| Smell: | Wonderful and aromatic on the nose, with concentrated notes of dark fruit blended with cedar box, saddle leather, espresso bean, dried rose petals, and subtle hints of jasmine and sage. |
| Taste: | Well balanced, beautiful, and absolutely delicious, with stewed dark plum, blackberry, and dried cherry delicately laid overtop berry bramble, freshly fallen leaves, sweet leather, fresh cedarwood shavings, dark chocolate, clove, rosemary, and a touch of pomegranate black tea. |
| Finish: | Long and lasting on the finish, with the robust dark fruit flavors lingering through plenty of velvety tannins and woodsy notes of terroir. |
| Pairing: | A wild mushroom and crispy prosciutto risotto. |
What the Winery Says
The Burgess Cellars’ hillside vineyards are on the steep slopes of Howell Mountain. The various exposures result in grapes that complement one another and build a complex, delicious wine. Soils range from volcanic ash to rocky marine sediments, this, combined with mature vines and skilled wine making give us a complex and elegant wine. The wine shows off dense Cabernet Sauvignon character accented with vanilla, balancing spices and toasty oak from traditional barrel aging.
This vintage was reduced because of a frosty spring. Our mountain vineyards are normally void of this problem; however there was some slight damage. The wine shows the concentration caused by frost and the flavors are quite rich with forward aromas. This 2008 Cabernet will complement all meats and like all of our Cabernets will continue to gain complexity with cellar aging.
- Winemaker
- Bill Sorenson
- Appellation
- Napa Valley, California
- Vineyard Location
- Burgess Estate Vineyards, Western & Eastern slopes of Howell Mountain
- Varietal Blend
- 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc, 4% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot, 4% Malbec
- ABV
- 14.5%
About the Winery
When Tom purchased the 1870’s era winery in 1972 he established himself as a pioneer of mountainside wineries. At the time, there were only approximately 2 dozen wineries in operation in the whole of Napa Valley and he saw the potential of mountain vineyards to produce wines that evoke the French concept of terroir: that the grapes, and thus wines, should reflect the vineyard’s soil, exposure, and overall micro-climate.
Currently we grow eight varieties at our three vineyards with the best site-specific methods, which allows us to produce consistency in the style of wines we produce.
Winemaker Kelly Woods
Brought up in the pastoral community of Santa Maria on California’s Central Coast, Kelly Woods chose to build upon her agricultural roots and follow a career in viticulture through the world famous UC Davis School of Viticulture and Enology.
Kelly’s winemaking career has seen her at Seavey, Bryant Family, and Sequoia Grove wineries in the Napa Valley as well as further afield in New Zealand. She manages all aspects of winemaking - be it in the cellar, lab, or out in the field. Kelly’s strong sensory skills and broad knowledge of wine styles have brought Burgess an enhanced focus on objective and precision in our wine-making.