This year sees the second release of a new Napa icon – Cathiard Vineyard – a historic vineyard acquired by the owners of Bordeaux’s Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte in 2020. Arabella Mileham talks to Florence Cathiard and Bordeaux winemaker Florien Teitgen about their plans in Napa. Buying a vineyard thousands of miles across the Atlantic just before the onset of a global pandemic might have caused a lesser couple to blanch, but the acquisition of the historic Napa property seems to have gone the opposite for Daniel and Florence Cathiard. The couple – former Olympic skiers who have owned the Pessac-Léognan Grand Cru Classé since 1990 – first visited the US back in 1969 when they went to the famous Woodstock Festival but it was only many years later, when they were showed the estate, that the opportunity to acquire land in Napa arose. “We bought it too quickly, too high, but my husband Daniel loves it!” Florence laughs. “There is beauty everywhere and the smell of the wines is incredible.” Situated in Rutherford and St. Helena at the foothills of the Mayacamas Mountains, the diamond-block vineyards on the Rutherford Bench rise to an altitude of 1200m. “We have lots of slopes, which is hard to work with, but very interesting in the glass,” Cathiard says. “It’s like Smith Maison Lafite but vertically” The vineyards were already planted with classic Bordeaux varieties, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc (as well as two blocks of Merlot) but as winemaker Fabien Teitgen
This Article was originally published on The Drink Business - Fine Wine
