2010 Elivette Voted Best U.S. Bordeaux Blend
Decanter World Wine Awards
Napa Valley, CA (September 25, 2013) In 1976, Napa Valley’s Spring Mountain Vineyard made history when its 1973 Chardonnay was ranked above French Chardonnays in the “Judgment of Paris” blind tasting. Today, Spring Mountain Vineyard has won a new distinction. Its signature Bordeaux-style red wine, 2010 Elivette, was rigorously blind tasted against its peers to be voted the Best Bordeaux Blend in the United States in the 2013 Decanter World Wine Awards. This follows the recognition given in the 2010 Decanter World Wine Award when the 2005 Elivette received the Gold Medal, the only one awarded to a California winery.
With a panel of international judges chaired by Steven Spurrier, the Englishman who arranged the Judgment of Paris tasting, the Decanter World Wine Awards is the most respected and influential wine competition in the world. A cadre of 225 internationally-respected wine professionals judged over 14,000 wines in blind tastings in 2013.
“We could not be more pleased with this acknowledgment of Elivette”, commented Patrick Léon, (formerly Technical Director at Chateau Mouton Rothschild and Opus One) who, with Bernard Hervet of Beaune, Burgundy, has advised Spring Mountain Vineyard since 2010, and who consulted on the award-winning blend.
“Over the past twenty years, Spring Mountain Vineyard has quietly brought forth the best from its mountainside vineyards”, owner Jacob E. (Jaqui) Safra went on to say. “The goal has always been wines with elegance and refinement. That Elivette is honored by the most educated wine scholars in the world validates our efforts.”
The team that creates Elivette is comprised of SMV winemaker Patrick Sullivan and vineyard manager Ron Rosenbrand, who together capitalize on the diversity of Spring Mountain’s unique vineyard.
The austere mountain soil yields fewer than two tons of grapes per acre, resulting in intensely flavored wines. Varietal purity, supple tannin structure and bright acidity characterize Spring Mountain wines. Vines are planted in 135 discrete hillside blocks that rise from 400 to 1,700 feet above sea level on the eastern slopes of Napa Valley’s Spring Mountain. The fruit from each block is kept separate for fermentation and barrel aging in order to preserve its unique qualities. Each year, after careful evaluation of various barrels of the classic Bordeaux varietals, Elivette is blended to become the finest expression of the Spring Mountain Vineyard.
About Spring Mountain Vineyard
Spring Mountain Vineyard is a privately owned 845-acre wine estate situated on the steep slopes of Spring Mountain in Napa Valley, California. In 2013, SMV celebrates two historic milestones: the 20th vintage under its current ownership and 140 years since its La Perla Vineyard was first planted to Cabernet Sauvignon in 1873. Today, 225 acres of vineyard are sustainably farmed using a variety of creative methods that work in harmony with the land and enhance wine quality. Spring Mountain Vineyard is planted primarily to Bordeaux grape varietals and is known for its distinctive and long-lived Cabernet Sauvignon, and particularly for its signature Bordeaux-style red wine, Elivette. www.SpringMountainVineyard.com
For more wine information:
www.springmountainvineyard.com