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SCREAMING EAGLE

Jean Phillips, a former real estate agent, didn't have a clue that fame would be thrust upon her. She bought her own Oakville property, just below the Dalla Valle, in 1986. In 1992, after years of selling grapes to Napa Valley wineries, she decided to find out if her homemade wine was any good.

She took a sample to nearby Robert Mondavi Winery and asked the winemaking staff to assess its quality. SheScreaming eagle vines confides that she was a "nervous wreck" at the time. Saddled with steep debt from her purchase of the 57-acre vineyard, she privately hoped that her wine might have commercial potential, but she had no grand illusions. The staff at Mondavi thought enough of her dark, rich, cassis-flavored Cabernet to encourage her to bottle it, though they snickered at her proposed name and politely suggested that she find another, more suitable, label. The name, Screaming Eagle, symbolizes her determination to strive to make the greatest wine possible. And soon after releasing her first Cabernet - the 1992 vintage - word of mouth began to spread, and accolades followed. It didn't take long for Screaming Eagle to become one of the most celebrated wines in Napa Valley history.

By all appearances, Phillips' Screaming Eagle vineyard seemed ideal for Cabernet. The soil is virtually a rock pile on a gentle, west-facing slope east of the Napa River. Drainage and exposure are excellent, witness the string of first-class vintages the wine has enjoyed. The property is at a point in the valley where the weather is hot enough during the day to ripen Cabernet to its optimum, yet the grapes are cooled by the afternoon breezes that blow north from San Pablo Bay.

The resulting wines are brimming with deep, plush layers of flavor, echoing currant, cassis, blackberry and black cherry. The tannins are soft, round and polished, yet firm enough to give every indication that the wines will age quite well for 10 to 20 years. Oak plays a minimal role as a flavor accent, lingering in the background.

In 2006 the estate was sold to Santa Barbara businessmen Charles Banks and Stanley Kroenke. In an ongoing replanting strategy, the vineyard manager David Abreu was employed to oversee the process. The vineyards are tended by viticulturist Annie Favia and vineyard foreman Jorge Delgado, while the current winemaker is Andy Erickson. In April 2009, Banks stated he was no longer involved with Screaming Eagle.

Despite the change in ownership, Screaming Eagle remains arguably California's most coveted wine brand.

Screaming Eagle wines produced:
Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon

Top Screaming Eagle wines produced:
1992 – 1995 – 1997 – 2001 – 2002
Vintages & formats available for Screaming Eagle
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