SOM Trailside Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford 2023

When Marc Gagnon and Michael Kennedy struck up their friendship in the early 2010s, it was built on their mutual connections in the wine industry. While the world of wine reaches across the globe, its community of makers is tightly knit. As Marc and Michael embarked on a business journey together to showcase Napa Valley’s impeccable winemaking history and clout, many wine friends offered guidance on their steps. And in that counsel, a kernel of an idea sprouted into what is now SOM Wines, a brand created through collaboration. A play on words, SOM stands for “state of mind” and combines the expertise of a team of sommeliers, winemakers, and vignerons, all brought together by Marc and Michael. SOM wines are crafted collaboratively from vineyard sourcing all the way to the bottle.

The collective secured fruit from one of Napa’s most coveted vineyards, Trailside, and became the only other producer to work with these prestigious grapes other than the vineyard owners. Before it was Trailside Vineyard, this storied plot was called Wildwood Ranch and supplied fruit to some of Napa's founding wineries, including Sterling, Beaulieu Vineyard, Spring Mountain, and Heitz Cellars. In 1984, Joe Heitz's vineyard manager and friend, Jack Neal, told him that Wildwood parcels would soon be on the market, as the owners needed to sell for cash. Joe had long admired the vineyard and jumped at the chance, purchasing his first plot of Trailside and cementing the vineyard's place in the Heitz Cellar lineup as a predominant source. The 85-acre vineyard lies on the eastern side of Rutherford at the intersection of the Silverado Trail and Conn Creek Road. When sharing Napa’s winemaking history, Trailside couldn’t be a more quintessential vineyard.

The SOM team selected an oak regimen of 50% new French barrels for the 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. After fermentation, the wine aged for 20 months in oak. In the glass, the Cabernet mirrors the classic styles Trailside is known for with balance and purity. There is surprising acidity and lively tension, with an intensely red-fruit core that expresses cherry, plum, cedar, and dried herb notes on the nose and palate. Even with the structured tannins, the red fruits make the wine approachable now and even more so with a little time in the decanter. Only 44 cases produced!