Featured Wines:
Jessup Cellars Napa Valley
Cabernet 2000
 Mark
Jessup has been making wine for over 20 years. He started
his career with Robert Mondavi and was one of the first winemakers
assigned to the Opus One team. Mark started making his own
wines in 1980 and launched Jessup Cellars in 1996. His training
and ability to balance big California fruit with the elegant
spice of 100% French Oak aging make him one of Big Wine's
favorite red wine makers in the Napa Valley.
Mark is a good friend of the Indie Wines Team so in the coming
months look for special events with Mark and unique opportunities,
available only to Indie Wines club members, to buy Jessup wines
at significant discounts.
The 2000 Jessup Cellars Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is
signature Mark Jessup with a long, lingering finish, full
mouthfeel and big round well-balanced tannins. This Cabernet
has a great beginning, middle and finish and was aged in 100%
French Oak for 20 months. All Jessup wines are hand crafted
in the Bordeaux tradition including barrel-to-barrel racking
at least six times before bottling. The cabernet is unfined
and unfiltered to preserve the fruit in its pristine state.
Jessup Cellars' 2000 Cabernet grapes come from a vineyard
south of Calistoga in the Napa Valley. It is a premiere appellation
on the valley floor. Rocky soil and the microclimate in this
area produce prime Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon wines.
Tasting Notes
A dark, rich and concentrated cabernet sauvignon made in
Mark Jessup's unique style. The harmonious, luscious and seamless
grace of the layers of grapey currant, blackberry, dark cherry,
creamy chocolate and spice flavors elevate this wine into
a class of its own. The wine features long silky legs with
inviting plum, toffee and cedar notes and fine grainy tannins
that speak to the wine's strength and stature. Drink now through
2010.
Grapes are hand picked between 24 and 26 brix
Blend: 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc, 5% Merlot
Alcohol - 14.1%; Retail Price - $45
Recent Awards & Accolades
Gold Medal
- 2004 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition
95 POINTS
- Peter Morrell Wines, New York City Tasting 2004
Indie Wineshop Prices
Bottle – $30
Half Case – $168
Case – $300
Jessup Cellars Napa Valley
Zinfandel 2001
Built
in 1996, the Jessup Cellars winery resides on a hilltop in
the Mayacaymas mountain range that divides the Napa and Sonoma
Valleys. The winery is located just below the Hess Collection
Winery and is designated in the Mt. Veeder appellation. The
Jessup Cellars winery was built into the hillside, forming
a natural environment for the wines as they age. Temperatures
and humidity levels are kept constant in this cave-like structure.
This hilltop location offers a spectacular eastern view of
the Napa Valley. John Kasten, a Napa architect and artist,
designed the building to showcase the winery. It is made with
adobe colored basalite blocks that have unique split faced
sections. The built-in outdoor fireplace is perfect for entertaining
on chilly evenings. Hanging over the fireplace is a barrel-top
shaped carving, with the JC logo carefully chiseled from redwood.
Today the Jessup wine labels are embossed with this insignia.
The winery was built with many people coming together sharing
their talents and supporting the Jessup family's dream of
building their own winery and making world-class wines in
Napa Valley.
The 2001 vintage is being hailed as a masterpiece in the
Napa Valley, and the Jessup Cellars Zinfandel strongly supports
this widespread conclusion by the industry pundits. The fruit
for this bold Zinfandel comes from Jessup's estate vineyards
in the Pope and Wooden Valley sub-appellations.
Tasting Notes
This the first Jessup Cellars Zinfandel from the Napa Valley
since 1996. It is also the inaugural vintage for Zinfandel
from the Jessup estate properties in Pope and Wooden Valley.
If this wine is any indication of what we can expect from
the Zinfandel vines on the estate, well then bring it on!
This is a classic Zin with big bold raspberry, plum and cherry
fruit, just the right amount of spice in the middle, and a
smooth velvety vanilla finish. This wine promises to be a
Zin lover's favorite and a wine that will certainly evolve
over time. Drink now through 2008. Alcohol - 14.4%; Retail
Price - $28
Recent Awards & Accolades
Silver Medal
- 2003 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition
93 POINTS
- Peter Morrell Wines, New York City Tasting 2004
Indie Wineshop Prices
Bottle – $24
Half Case – $132
Case – $216
Jessup Cellars Napa Valley
Zinfandel Port 2000
NOW THIS IS JUST A SPECIAL TREAT!
We
are happy to offer our charter customers and Cellar Club members
a special treat from one of our favorite winemakers in California.
You won't find this port in any store because Mark Jessup
only makes a few cases for friends and family. Indie Wines is
fortunate to count ourselves in the category of a friend.
This incredibly delicious and elegant Zinfandel Port is extremely
special and very exclusive. The Jessup Cellars Zinfandel Port
is dripping with rich and ripe ruby flavors. This port strikes
a perfect balance between ripe sweet fruit and the steamy
sensuality of sharing a velvety smooth brandy on a cool spring
night. The structure and power of this 2000 vintage port are
clearly apparent without being overwhelming. Port and non-port
drinkers alike will rave about the pleasurable experience
of sipping this one-of-a-kind wine.
Tasting Notes
Fruit forward, saturated with the richest and deepest ruby
color one can imagine, this port is concentrated with layers
of ripe blackberries, cherries and black raspberries bursting
with jammy flavors. Chocolate, tobacco, and spice hints reveal
this wine to be any port lover's dream. Drink now through
2015. Alcohol - 20%; Retail Price - $28
Recent Awards & Accolades
90 POINTS
- WINE ENTHUSIAST
Indie Wineshop Prices
Bottle – $24
Half Case – $132
Case – $216
Hengehold Family Winery Sonoma
Valley Merlot 2000
 Hengehold
Family Vineyards was founded in 1999 by twin brothers Doug
and Mike Hengehold who, guided by their passion for wine,
sought to produce a unique and distinctive Merlot from the
grapes grown on their family's vineyard high above Sonoma
Valley.
The Indie Wines buyer first tasted this wonderful new Merlot
when proprietor Doug Hengehold was kind enough to share a
bottle with him during their holiday wine trade. The 2000
Merlot is a palate explosion. It is truly a big wine. Doug
and Mike are wine country native sons, raised in the grape
growing business. Besides their roles as growers and winemakers,
Doug & Mike share their passion and wine knowledge with
restaurateurs around the country as full time sales and marketing
professionals for two of California's premier wine groups.
Producing great wine starts in the finest vineyards. The
Hengeholds' objective is to showcase the distinctive character
of the fruit from their family's vineyard and from other unique
vineyard lots in the Sonoma and Napa Valleys. Their Merlot,
aged 15 months in French & American Oak, is completely
handcrafted from harvest to bottle, unfined and unfiltered
to preserve and maintain its true flavors.
Doug says their biggest challenge is helping wine drinkers
pronounce the name. He suggests thinking “hang on, hold tight.”
Tasting Notes
2000 proved to be an ideal vintage for the Hengehold Family,
yielding a Merlot of classic proportion and elegance. This
wine is deep garnet color, with enticing aromas of black cherry
and violets. It shows well-balanced fruit, tannin, and acid,
with flavors of blackberry and spice and a soft, velvety finish.
Harvest Date: October 19, 2000 - Release Date: Fall of 2002
Production: 600 cases - 91% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet is added to provide enhanced structure & complexity
Recent Awards & Accolades
XXX-rated by Wine X Magazine
“This stuff makes Pomerol fans cry for more...A stunning
example of Merlot...beautiful, perfume, deep, classic…” -
Sonoma Wine Shop
“I purchased two bottles of your 2000 Merlot...I wish I had
ordered ten instead of two—it is a stunning wine...I am passing
along an e-mail to this effect to Robert Parker.” - Bill W.,
Sacramento, CA
Indie Wineshop Prices
Bottle – $26
Half Case – $150
Case – $288
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