Covert Estate and Julien Fayard Debut 2017 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Exclusively for Wholesale

NAPA, Calif., Feb. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Since 2012, the limited-production wines of Julien Fayard's Covert Estate are mostly allocated on a first-come, first-serve basis until now. The newly released 2017 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is the first of Covert Estate's wines to be exclusively available for the wholesale market. While Fayard typically produces a few barrels or less of each Covert Estate wine, ranging in price from $175 to $250 per bottle, he produced more than 300 cases of the 2017 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon in an effort to be available to most markets. Still a limited-production, this wine should retail for $95 per bottle.

"This wine is ready to be enjoyed earlier than our estate wines, but it still has Coombsville's dark, structured aromatics, balanced with the elegant and refined style for which Covert is known," said Fayard, winemaker and co-owner of Covert Estate. "The 2017 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon offers us an opportunity to share Covert's style of wine with a broader audience beyond Napa."

Fayard and his team at Covert Estate harvest by hand in the cool early mornings and send the grapes through two rounds of rigorous sorting—first as whole clusters, then again as de-stemmed individual berries. After cold maceration, the fruit is fermented for three to four weeks. Once this initial fermentation is complete, the grapes are gently crushed with a vertical press directly into barrels for a secondary malolactic fermentation. The wine then spends 18-26 months in barrel, as needed for each vintage. Fayard racks at most twice per year, and bottles without fining or filtration.

"By minimizing human intervention with the wine, we aim to amplify the voice of the terroir," Fayard said. "At Covert Estate, our approach to winemaking is conservative and sustainable, respectful of the terroir and supportive of the vineyard, which does most of the work. We use traditional Bordeaux winemaking techniques combined with California creativity to capture in the bottle what the vineyard provides us each year."

Covert Estate's 2017 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon exhibits precision, elegance, structure and depth. The nose blooms with aromas of juicy berries, caramel and currants, with a subtle touch of graphite behind. In the mouth, layers of luscious black and purple fruits unfurl with juicy plum, brûléed boysenberries, spicy notes of clove and anise, and a black, volcanic minerality. Well-knit tannins structure the dense, round texture and carry the long finish through sweet blue fruit and warm, gentle spices. The alcohol is medium-plus at 14.8 percent.

To learn about distribution and availability for Covert Estate's 2017 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, please contact Bryan Lipa with Scale Wine Group at [email protected].

ABOUT COVERT ESTATE:
Since 2012, Covert Estate focuses on limited-production, terroir-driven wines made with French finesse by winemaker and co-owner Julien Fayard. Located in Napa Valley's Coombsville appellation, the estate is certified Napa Green and operates with a minimal footprint on the land. The five-acre vineyard is farmed organically and mostly comprises of Bordeaux varietals including Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. Covert Estate may be visited by appointment only. Reservations may be secured by calling (707) 337-5943. To learn more about Covert Estate, visit covertestate.com.

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SOURCE Covert Estate