Sloan Estate Winery Napa Valley California Cabernet Sauvignon Wines

Everything about Sloan Estate Winery Napa Valley California Cabernet Sauvignon wine producer profile, wine tasting notes, wine and food pairing tips, best vintages, history of the property, information on their wine making techniques, terroir and soil. You can also read about the Grapes used for California wine and learn about the extensive History of Napa Valley, California Wines

Sloan Estate Winery History, Overview

Stuart Sloan was not born to a life a wine. It was a passion. Sloan, who previously owned QFC, a chain of supermarkets in the northwest, sold his company, moved from Seattle and started an entirely new life as a winery owner.

In 1997, Stuart Sloan purchased 40 acres of land in the eastern portion of the Rutherford appellation, which gave him a nice view of Auberge du Soleil, which was just a bit below his property.

With that parcel of land, Sloan Estate Winery was founded in 1997 with the goal of making of the great Cabernet Sauvignon wines in all of Napa Valley. Stuart Sloan quickly put together an all-star team to help accomplish his goal. He hired David Abreu to plant 13 acres with vines. Mark Aubert was the first winemaker to work with Sloan. He was replaced in 2004 by Martha McClellan. Brad Grimes, who is the winemaker for Abreu was hired to assist as well. Michel Rolland, the globe trotting consultant joined the team soon after that. Sloan Estate Winery released its first vintage in 2000.

Things changed in 2011, when the wealthy financier, Sutong Pan and Jenny Pan, Purchased Sloan Estate Winery for a record setting, $40 Million dollars from Stuart Sloan! Sutong also owns Chateau Bon Pasteur in Pomerol.

Sloan Vineyards Estate Wines, Making

The vineyards of Sloan Estate Winery are on great terroir within site of Auberge du Soleil on the hillsides of Rutherford. The vineyard has good elevations that range from 875 feet to almost 1,000 feet above the Rutherford Bench. The terroir is mostly, rocks, stone, volcanic material, clay and white tufa soils on a cool, hillside parcel.

Sloan Winery makes 2 wines. Sloan Estate Wine, their flagship wine is made from mostly Cabernet Sauvignon, with varying amounts of Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot are blended in. The wine was first produced in 2000. They have a second wine, Asterisk which is made from a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, made its debut in 2004. Asterisk is usually made from just Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grapes.

Serving and Decanting Sloan Estate Wines with Wine, Food, Pairing Tips

Sloan Estate is best served at 15.5 degrees Celsius, 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The cool, almost cellar temperature gives the wine more freshness and lift. Young vintages can be decanted for 2-4 hours, depending on the character of the vintage. This allows the wine to soften and open its perfume. Older vintages might need very little decanting, just enough to remove the sediment. Sloan Estate is best served with all types of classic meat dishes, veal, pork, beef, lamb, duck, game, roast chicken, ribs, hamburgers, barbecue, roasted, braised, grilled dishes and stews. Sloan Estate is also good with Asian dishes, hearty fish courses like tuna, salmon, mushrooms and pasta.

www.sloanestate.com