2005-12-29
Napa Valley Winery Salutes Silver Anniversary with Special Cabernet Sauvignon Release
Flora Springs Unveils Single-Vineyard Wine
In Time For Winemaker’s 25th Year
In late 1977, San Franciscans brothers John and Mike Komes and sister Julie, along with her husband Pat Garvey, convinced their parents (Flora and Jerry) to let them revive an old 19th Century winery on retirement property the elder Komes had recently bought on the Napa Valley floor, just south of the then sleepy village of St. Helena, off Highway 29.
The result, Flora Springs, went on to become famous – initially for being the first California winery to produce a barrel-fermented Chardonnay and, not long after, for making Trilogy (the second California Meritage). Today, it is one of the few remaining family-owned Napa Valley wineries from the “California Wine Renaissance” of the late 1970s and the third-largest winery landowner in the Valley, with over 1,100 acres in every one of the six grape-growing districts of Napa.
One of the canniest decisions the Komes and Garveys made in the winery’s early days was to quickly determine that they needed a talented professional winemaker to help realize their lofty winemaking ambitions – to make some of the finest wines of the region.
They had to look no further than the nearby Joseph Heitz Cellars, where a young California native, Ken Deis, was honing his skills after graduating from Fresno State with a BS in enology. He joined Flora Springs in 1980 and under Ken’s 25 years, the winery has grown in size and stature, boasting some of the finest white and red wines coming from Napa Valley and making the owners’ dream a reality. He is one of only a handful of winemakers in California that have been with the same winery over 20 years – and even a smaller number that have been that winery’s only winemaker.
In addition to the aforementioned, routinely-praised Flora Springs Chardonnays, Soliloquy Sauvignon Blanc and Trilogy, Ken has also created a number of single-vineyard Cabernets from special lots on the Estate. Flora Springs’ Single Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignons are much anticipated, with the Rutherford Hillside Reserve consistently receiving ratings in the 90s and attaining “cult” status.
In 2002, during the winery’s 25th year, John Komes asked Ken to produce a small batch of the very best single-vineyard Cabernet, taken from a vineyard right in front of the Rutherford-based winery, in honor of the winery’s Silver Anniversary. It is this wine, with a unique 25th Anniversary label, that is being released during Ken’s 25th year with Flora Springs.
There are only 700 cases of Flora Springs 25th Anniversary Cabernet Sauvignon 2002, divided among magnums and 750ml bottles. Redolent in black cherry, raspberry and cassis flavors that show all the way through the palate from start to finish, the wine is aged 22 months in 100-percent new Bordeaux Chateaux heavy-toasted barrels. It is a well-balanced wine, with few oak tendencies to overpower the fruit.
Most of Flora Springs 25th Anniversary Cabernet Sauvignon 2002 will be sold through the winery, at suggested retail prices of $150 for the 750ml and $300 for the magnums, with a limited amount available to select on- and off-premise establishments.
Flora Springs wines are marketed and sold exclusively through Quintessential, the Flora Springs Tasting Room on Route 29 and the Flora Springs Wine Club.
For further information, log on to Flora Springs website, www.florasprings.com or www.quintessentialwines.com.
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