Cornell Vineyards North Block Red Blend North Coast 2023

Perched peacefully 1,900 feet in elevation and straddling the Mayacamas mountain range, just west of the Spring Mountain District, is a striking mountainous property called Cornell Vineyards, not too far from Togni, Pride, and Fisher. The estate is a 240-acre property with sweeping views and impressive scenery. In 2013, proprietors Henry and Vanessa Cornell hired consulting winemaker Françoise Peschon to oversee a complete makeover of the estate. Peschon brought in vineyard specialist Phil Coturri (Harlan Estate, Bedrock Wine Co, Moon Mountain Vineyard), who created the plan to redevelop the property and convert the estate to organic farming.

Today, all farming is done in-house, which is the kind of investment we only see from vintners with very high aspirations for total greatness. Of the 240 acres, only 20 have been planted to Bordeaux varietals. The location is Sonoma County's highest vineyard, and the land is wild, vigorous, and peppered with beautiful wildflowers and abundant trees. This lustrous landscape is just one of the reasons why the wines taste the way they do. Like many of the best places to grow grapes in the world, the soils at Cornell are diverse, containing a generous mix of prehistoric seabed, volcanic rock, loamy clay, and sandstone. Crisp, fog-free mornings and warm afternoons make the setting an ideal growing climate for these hearty Bordeaux varietals, and unlike the vineyards on the valley floor, the temperatures up on the mountain rarely reach 100 degrees, resulting in perfectly balanced wines.

The wines are made in the same contemporary, classical style that has brought Françoise so much praise from her days at Araujo Estate and Vine Hill Ranch, and more recently at Almacerro. Quite simply, the Cornell wines are gorgeous mountain Cabernets of class, purity, and pedigree. The North Block red blend combines 28% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Cabernet Franc, and 41% Merlot; think of it as an ode to Right Bank Bordeaux. A restrained touch of oak, with 19 months in 33% new French barrels, imparts ever-so-gently toast and spice, while rounding edges and fusing the varietals. “Two distinct Cabernet Franc clones bring clarity, blue-toned fruit, and floral notes, while Merlot adds texture, generosity, and quiet depth. Together, they form a wine defined by elegance, restraint, and harmony” notes Françoise, who crafted just 150 cases of this inaugural blend, and only those on the Cornell list and ACME’s Apexers have access!