"Our goal is to make great estate Cabernet Sauvignon," is the clarion call of every Napa Valley winemaker (except for those who came to their senses and opted for Pinot Noir). So natural and expected is this homage to Cabernet that it has become the motto of Napa winemaking.
Cabernet Sauvignon is, after all, the reason Francis Ford Coppola is in the Napa Valley. "Our goal has always been to make one of America's great wines. You do not become involved with an estate like this without that as your goal," says Coppola.
In 1975, the noted filmmaker and his wife, Eleanor, purchased part of the historic Gustave Niebaum estate in Rutherford. Three years later, he released the first vintage of Rubicon, a proprietary blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Named partly for rubus, the Latin word for ruby and that small river in northern Italy that Caesar famously crossed, Rubicon has allowed Coppola to cross over from the wide-open world of cinema to the more insular world of Napa Valley winemaking.
Rubicon is the cornerstone of an impressive line of wines made by Scott McLeod, winemaker at Rubicon since 1991. Before Coppola, McLeod spent three years in Tuscany working for Isole e Oleana and then as winemaker for Badia a Passignano. It was Coppola's singular passion for estate-grown red wines that attracted McLeod to the Rubicon Estate.
"What intrigued me about the idea of working for this estate was that it had the potential of being the classic European wine estate," recalls McLeod.
The current 2002 Rubicon is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, sourced from seven estate vineyards. The heart of the blend, 90 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, comes from the Garden Vineyard, on the Rutherford Bench. McLeod says that Garden grapes give to Rubicon 'the truly identifiable black cherry and violet perfume.'
The 2002 vintage marks the first year that Rubicon is made exclusively from organically grown grapes. Although the move to go organic, prompted by Eleanor Coppola's friend, noted Bay Area restaurateur Alice Waters, started in 1991, it wasn't until 2002 that the entire 235 acres of the Rubicon Estate was certified organic.
Organic certification is only one of a series of changes that Coppola initiated to upgrade the quality of his estate wines and the winery experience itself. There was a time not long ago when Coppola was criticized for excessive commercialism at the Rutherford estate, at the expense of increasing wine quality.
The old Inglenook chateau and grounds are, in some eyes, hallowed ground and the complaint was that Coppola had stepped on tradition with a small museum devoted to his films and a very large emporium-like retail shop with every imaginable (and some you never heard of) wine chotchke, among other things that critics felt was too 'Hollywood,' even for the showy Napa Valley.
In short order, Coppola turned things around through the purchase of more estate vineyard land, providing McLeod with additional grapes under the estate control to work with, hiring of noted sommelier Larry Stone, MS as general manager of the Rubicon Estate, and reworking the guest program by reducing crowds and adding more personalized tours. The new guest program includes a tasting of estate wines, access to the chateau and valet parking, for a cost of $25 per person, a fee that will be waived for Napa Valley residents.
For wine lovers, though, the most important thing about any change at the Rubicon Estate is what's in the bottle. Based on a recent tasting of the new releases, McLeod has put together an impressive, though pricey, collection of wines under the new Rubicon Estate label.
Rubicon Estate, Rutherford (Napa Valley, California) Blancaneaux 2004 ($40): On the Rubicon Estate there's a six-and-a-half-acre plot that stands in the shadow of Mt. St. John. The shaded conditions are bad for Cabernet, but good for Roussanne, Marsanne and Viognier, the ingredients of this tasty Rhone-style blend. The percentages change from vintage to vintage, with the 2004 Blancaneaux made from 59 percent Roussanne, 26 Viognier and 15 percent Marsanne. Both oak barrel and stainless steel tank fermentations were used, resulting in a firmly textured wine with aromatic peach and spice accents, great viscous texture, sweet fruit flavors and a long dry finish. The name Blancaneaux, loosely translated from the French as 'whitewaters,' is named for the person who built Coppola's luxury lodge Blancaneaux in Belize. 90
Rubicon Estate, Rutherford (Napa Valley, California) Edizione Pennino Zinfandel 2004 ($40): With all the clonal chatter vibrating through the California wine community, little is heard about Zinfandel clones. Rubicon Estate's 2004 Zinfandel, named for Coppola's maternal grandfather, incorporates two historic Zin clones: Morisoli with its spicy sweet fruit and Werle that gives the wine texture and subtle hints of chocolate. McCleod cold-soaks and ferments each vineyard lot separately, with daily punch-downs, followed by 18-months aging in French and American oak. The aromatics are pure Zinfandel with sweet briar and spice that follow through to the bright dark fruit flavors, hints of dark chocolate, good length and firm tannins. It finishes with plenty of ripe fruit and the expected 'Zin heat,' from the 14.9 percent alcohol. 89
Rubicon Estate, Rutherford (Napa Valley, California) Cabernet Franc 2004 ($52.): Cabernet Franc is an integral part of the estate's flagship red Rubicon, lifting the aromatics while providing an added nuance of flavor. But as a solo performer, the Rubicon Estate Cab Franc starts out with promise then tapers off in the finish. Select lots of Cabernet Franc from four estate vineyards are blended with 14 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, then aged for 23 months in French oak. The result is a fragrant wine with hints of spice mingled with a fresh blueberry aroma. Structurally, the wine is a little light, although there is a backbone of fine tannins. Muted blueberry and dark chocolate dominate the flavors, while the finish lacks length. 87
Rubicon Estate, Rutherford (Napa Valley, California) Cask Cabernet 2003 ($70): Rubicon's Cask Cabernet Sauvignon pays homage to the Inglenook Cask wines that were sourced from the original Niebaum estate vineyards. Grapes for the 2003 Cask come from the Chateau Vineyard and the Cohn Vineyard, both historic Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards, plus UC-Davis Clone 29, with some of the same genetic material as the vines Gustave Niebaum brought back from France in the 1880s and planted on the Rutherford estate. This 2003 Cask reflects the Rutherford depth and ripeness, with sweet cherry-berry flavors, soft refined tannins and a firm structure, nicely integrated with subtle toasted oak. Aging for 28 months is American oak gives this all-American Cabernet structure and depth. 92
Rubicon Estate, Rutherford (Napa Valley, California) Rubicon 2002 ($110): Construction on the Rubicon Winery in the Inglenook Grand Chateau was wrapping up as the grapes for the 2002 Rubicon were arriving at the crush pad. For the first time in 36 years, the smell of fermenting Cabernet filled the air of the Inglenook Chateau This edition of Coppola's main red is a blend of 90 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 5 percent Cabernet Franc, 3 percent Petit Verdot and 2 percent Merlot. It was aged in new French oak barrels. The color is deep, almost black at the center, bleeding to a dense bright ruby. The multi-level aroma has hints of black olive, ripe blackberry, dark chocolate and subtle floral notes. There is a fruit purity and concentration that makes this Rubicon accessible now but with greater promise for the future. 90
