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. She
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