2018 Tesseron Estate, Pym-Rae Red, Mount Veeder, Napa Valley, California, USA

Tesseron Estate

Acquired by the Tesseron family in 2016, Tesseron Estate, also known as Villa Sorriso, has a unique and heartwarming connection to the famous actor Robin Williams, who once owned the property. In honour of his legacy and the love he had for his children, the Tesserons decided to preserve the vineyard’s history by naming their wines after the middle names of Robin Williams’ children, “PYM” and “RAE.”

Located in the Napa Valley of California, Tesseron Estate was carefully chosen by the Tesseron family due to its exceptional reputation and potential. However, they didn’t settle for just any spot in the valley. They sought a location combining the valley’s generous climate with locally cool conditions. This led them to choose a high-altitude vineyard in the Mount Veeder region.

The soil was one of the critical factors for producing the deep and balanced wines that the Tesserons desired. They needed sedimentary soils with historic marine deposits that had gradually evolved over millions of years. Mount Veeder offered these ideal soil conditions, enabling the vines to thrive and produce exceptional grapes.

The choice of grape varieties was crucial, and the Tesserons decided to plant Bordeaux varieties, drawing from their expertise with these grapes at Pontet Canet. To ensure the highest quality of grapes, the Tesserons also recognised the importance of mature vines. This dedication to vine maturity would result in full, complex wines that reflect the vineyard’s unique characteristics.

Cabernet Sauvignon

The most famous red wine grape in the world and one of the most widely planted.

It is adaptable to a wide range of soils, although it performs particularly well on well-drained, low-fertile soils. It has small, dusty, black-blue berries with thick skins that produce deeply coloured, full-bodied wines with notable tannins. Its spiritual home is the Médoc and Graves regions of Bordeaux where it thrives on the well-drained gravel-rich soils producing tannic wines with piercing blackcurrant fruits that develop complex cedarwood and cigar box nuances when fully mature.

The grape is widely planted in California where Cabernet Sauvignon based wines are distinguished by their rich mixture of cassis, mint, eucalyptus and vanilla oak. It is planted across Australia and with particular success in Coonawarra where it is suited to the famed Terra Rossa soil. In Italy barrique aged Cabernet Sauvignon is a key component in Super Tuscans such as Tignanello and Sassicaia, either on its own or as part of a blend with Sangiovese.