This article looks at the 2015 and 2016 releases from Jayson and Helen Woodbridge’s Hundred Acre winery. As I hope the reviews show, these are brilliant wines offering not only classic Napa Valley power and richness, but remarkable purity of fruit, elegance, and balance. Make no mistake, these are rich, sexy Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons, yet they all have an incredible, weightless texture and flawless balance as well as the structure to evolve for decades.
Looking at the estate vineyards, there are three sites in Napa Valley. The first vineyard Jayson worked with, the Kayli Morgan Vineyard is located north of St. Helena and consists of nine acres of more clay soils. Planted in 1996, the first release from this vineyard was in 2000. The Ark Vineyard is located just outside of St. Helena, at the base of Howell Mountain, and covers 13 acres of mostly volcanic soils and steeper slopes. The first Ark Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon was released in 2005. Lastly, the Few And Far Between Vineyard, formerly known as Pickett Road Vineyard, is located outside of Calistoga and covers just under six acres of more gravelly, clay soils. This site is unique in that it also has a small portion of Cabernet Franc planted, and this is reflected in the wine as well. The most recent vineyard for Woodbridge, the first Few and Far Between Cabernet Sauvignon was released in 2008.
In addition to three single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon releases, Woodbridge also produced a WRAITH Cabernet Sauvignon, which is a blend from the three sites.
From a winemaking standpoint, the single vineyard releases are barrel fermented and aged 30 months in new French oak. The WRAITH Cabernet Sauvignon sees a slightly longer élevage and spends a full 40 months in new French oak barrels.
While expensive and hard to come by, these are singular, world-class wines.
Readers can find additional vintage info at: