Wine Notes

Double Eagle combines two passions of David Grieve- it is the rarest of golf shots and the name of our red Bordeaux blend.

Nature blessed the Napa Valley with three consecutive “vintages of the decade” in the 2012, 2013 and 2014. The 2014 vintage had an early budbreak like 2012 and 2013 but the vintage was marked by higher than normal acidity, owing to cooler nighttime temperatures and few summertime heat spikes. While it was an earlier than normal harvest, it was a bit later than 2013 for us and a bit more predictable with merlot coming first followed by Cabernet Franc and finally Cabernet Sauvignon.

The vintage was the third consecutive year of drought in wine country and consequently the berries were smaller and the yields lower than normal; both factors contributing to a high level of flavor and aroma extraction.

If we had to sum up the vintage in one word it would be “balance”. The grapes gave up their tannins less easily than the 2012 and 2013 vintages, yielding wines with more delicacy and the slightly higher acidity gave the wines a lively character in the mouth to balance the forward aromatics of ripe plums, blackberries and a touch of lavender.

Our oak aging regimen is designed to complement and integrate with the distinctive aromatics of the fruit. We use medium to medium plus toasting levels and about 2/3 new French Oak barrels and 1/3 once-used French oak barrels. This gives us a bouquet of creme brulee, cocoa and a very slight toasted character.