Fiadh Ruadh Cabernet Sauvignon Stags Leap District 2018

As ACME approaches its twentieth birthday, we grow in appreciation of all the fantastic wines we have discovered and the ways we seek them out. The 2018 Fiadh Ruadh (pronounced Fay-ah Roo-ah) came to us through the grapevine (no pun intended) from an ACME club member, and it's not the first time we've learned of a debut from an enthusiastic clubbie. Word of mouth is a powerful tool for us in Napa Valley, and with just a little nugget of "you should check out this wine I tried," we were off on the search.

Nova Cadamatre, owner and winemaker of Fiadh Ruadh, is a force to be reckoned with. Her long list of accolades, multiple wine brands, and downright boss status have us wondering if she's unlocked a couple of extra hours in the day compared to the rest of us. She began her formal wine studies at Cornell University after an apprenticeship at Stargazers Vineyard in 2003. At Cornell, she earned a Bachelor's Degree in Viticulture before crossing the country to California and choosing Napa Valley to continue her real-life education. During her nine harvests in Napa, she consulted on multiple projects and worked with fruit from acclaimed Oakville vineyards such as To Kalon, Vine Hill Ranch, Detert, and MacDonald. Wine Enthusiast named her to the Top 40 Under 40 list in 2014. In 2015, Nova and her husband packed up and crossed the country again, landing in the Finger Lakes region of New York. Finally, her winemaker dreams became a reality with the purchase of a winery and vineyard and the launch of her brand Trestle 31. And as if that endeavor was not time-consuming enough, in 2017, Nova became the first female winemaker to earn a Master of Wine (MW) diploma from the Wine & Spirits Education Trust.

While Nova settled in New York to build the Trestle 31 brand, she continued bi-coastally consulting for California producers. Then, with the 2018 harvest, a contact reached out to offer Nova a block of fruit from an exceptional vineyard in the Stags Leap District of Napa. The new project presented her with the opportunity to, in her words, "express my interpretation of classic regions in a new and exciting way." Stags Leap is undoubtedly a classic, and historically significant AVA within Napa, having been the first area planted with Cabernet Sauvignon in 1961. The red, volcanic soils of the district's eastern portion combined with the sediment-rich soil fanning from the Napa River create low-vigor vines producing deeply concentrated berries. These rich and intensely flavored wines helped put Napa on the map, with Heitz Cellar's "Fay Vineyard" Cabernet being one of the first single-vineyard wines of the region and the Stags Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon winning first place at the 1976 Judgement of Paris when pitted against the best wines of the world including first-growth Châteaus of Bordeaux.

The 2018 Fiadh Ruadh is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon and 100% Clone 685 from a site just off the Silverado Trail in Stags Leap. After the mid-October harvest and fermentation, the wine aged in 100% new French oak barrels from the Taransaud cooperage for 22 months. Darkly hued purple with a crimson red rim, the wine is intensely perfumed with aromas of black cherry, dark chocolate, and strawberry fruit leather. Smooth yet structured tannins balance with an acidity that brightens the opulently flavored palate of red currants, black tea, dusty sage, and brambly blackberries. The debut 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon is the first and only vintage thus far from Fiadh Ruadh, and ACME is pleased to launch this brand with the hopes our feature provides the chance for Nova to craft the second of what will surely be an outstanding vintage.