Sequoia Grove is a boutique Napa Valley winery located on Route 29 in the heart of Rutherford. Head Winemaker Michael Trujillo and Winemaker Molly Hill choose from the very best palette of Napa Valley fruit sources to create Bordeaux-style wines of traditional character, structure and a true sense of place, a fresh approach yielding modern-day liquid treasures that over-deliver for their price point.
Sequoia Grove is located on 24 acres in the heart of the Rutherford Bench, Napa Valley’s most prestigious Cabernet Sauvignon appellation. For 30 years, Sequoia Grove has been recognized for its commitment to crafting award winning Bordeaux-style wines that emphasize finesse and balance from the region’s superlative fruit sources. Today we remain a boutique producer and noted specialists in Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons that remain true to their varietals' character and are continually recognized for superior quality and value.
The Region:
The Rutherford District of Napa Valley is an icon of quality and the standard-bearer of some of the region’s best fruit. Many grape varieties thrive here, including Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, but it is Rutherford-grown Cabernet Sauvignon which has become famous for producing wines of exceptional taste and rich complexity.
The Wine:
Sequoia Grove wines are renowned for their elegance and highly-concentrated fruit; they are wines with a distinct sense of place, crafted to express the unique Rutherford terroir. Sequoia Grove focuses production on three wines: Carneros Chardonnay, Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, and Rutherford Bench Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. Depending on the variety, fermentation is carried out in oak, stainless steel, or a combination of both. Total oak cooperage of 60,000 gallons is comprised of small and large French and some American oak (which is used only to age Cabernet Sauvignon). All wines are bottle-aged at least one year, with the estate reserve bottling held longer prior to release. Today, the winery’s total production stands at 34,000 cases.
The Winery:
“Thanks to major investments in the winery, we have the ability to achieve the best results from our grape sources; nothing is left out or left behind with any of our wines. All the wonderful qualities of Napa Valley Cabernet end up inside the bottle.” While the century-old winery still stands as a symbol of tradition, Sequoia Grove’s state-of-the-art vinification system ensures the highest quality in the winemaking process. Sequoia Grove is home to the Valley’s first completely subterranean cellar, which maintains a year-round temperature of 58 degrees Fahrenheit.
The Vineyards:
Sequoia Grove Estate Vineyard, Rutherford
Sequoia Grove’s 24-acre Estate Vineyard lies in the Napa Valley’s most superb red wine mesoclimate midway between Rutherford and Oakville on the famous Rutherford bench. Surrounded by Beaulieu Vineyards to the north and Robert Mondavi’s Opus One to the south, the Sequoia Grove Estate Vineyard is planted 85% to Cabernet Sauvignon, with the remainder to Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec. These grapes yield wines of rich flavors and depth with substantial tannins and aging potential. The much-acclaimed dust which is unique to the Rutherford Viticultural District imparts a distinct sense of place on all wines made here.
Ranging in soil type from gravelly loam to sandy clay loam across the vineyard’s 24 acres, each row of vines is meticulously planted in the soil type to which it is best-suited, with Cabernet Sauvignon primarily in gravelly loam and other varieties in the deeper, richer soils. All vineyard practices are organic; neither insecticides nor herbicides are used to preserve the natural character and intensity of the vineyard’s extraordinary fruit.
“Each harvest, the best fruit that comes into our winery is from our Estate Vineyard,” says Head Winemaker Michael Trujillo. “We hand pick everything and only the grapes that are perfectly ripe. This requires multiple passes through the vineyard but guarantees that every grape comes in perfectly balanced.”
Used to make the winery’s flagship Reserve wine, and contributing to the Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon beginning with the 2006 vintage, the Estate Vineyard remains the soul of Sequoia Grove. “These 24 acres are our blood line,” explains Mike. “We focus on this vineyard as our way to make our mark. These grapes get the crème de la crème treatment from trellising, hang time, and hand harvesting to the 12 additional months in bottle before release. We don’t cut any corners.”
Total acreage: 24
Acquired: 1979
Total Cabernet Sauvignon: 85 percent
Average age of vines: 10-12 years
Yields: 3.5-3.7 tons per acre (from closely planted vines)
Tonella Vineyard, Rutherford
In 2006, Sequoia Grove reached an agreement with the Tonella family to take control of their famed vineyard on the Rutherford Bench. The vineyard parcel is 50 acres and lies on Skellenger Lane, just down the street from Caymus, close to the Oakville line. Eighteen acres of high-quality Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot vines remain, contributing to recent vintages of the Napa Valley and Rutherford Bench Reserve Cabernet Sauvignons. Steve Allen replanted the remainder of the vineyard to special Cabernet Sauvignon clones (hand selected by Head Winemaker Michael Trujillo) that will support the Sequoia Grove wines starting in the 2010 vintage.
The vineyard has a long history. It was originally part of the Mexican land grants and was owned by the diocese of San Francisco for a time. Over the next 70 or so years, the property was owned by the Rutherford brothers (for which Rutherford is named) followed by the Ponti family who eventually sold it to the Tonella family in the early part of the 1900s.
With its variety of soil compositions and microclimates, Tonella Vineyard produces fruit with distinctive Rutherford character and flavor profiles. The Tonella Vineyard is another sign of Sequoia Grove’s commitment to quality and dedication to the Rutherford appellation in the Napa Valley.
Total acreage: 50
Acquired: 2006
Total Cabernet Sauvignon: 84 percent
The Location:
8338 St. Helena Highway, Napa, CA 94558 ~ phone 707.944.2945 ~ fax 707.963.9411
www.sequoiagrove.com
