PARADOR
NAPA VALLEY
Parador began as much a curiosity as a dream. – The question of why it was that thus far in California’s well-documented history of its wine industry, had the Tempranillo grape variety not been given much attention; in fact very little indeed.
The supposition that California’s winemakers’ quest to emulate the wines of France, and to a lesser degree, Italy, seems to be how Tempranillo was delegated to the most outlying growing areas, and without much attention to clonal selection or other important quality factors.
Thus began our quest to make a world-class wine using the Tempranillo grape variety along with the already renowned Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley.
In March of 1998, travel to Spain was the requirement in order to seek a high-quality selection of Tempranillo. With stars aligning, introductions were made and the most renowned patriarch of the Tempranillo grape enthusiastically gave the approval to use his Ribera del Duero clone. On to the Rioja, and another selection was attained.
Back in California, after nursery services and the ground-clearing of a new vineyard site, adjacent to an acclaimed Cabernet planting, the dream was unfolding. While the baby Tempranillo vines grew up, the first Parador blends were introduced to the marketplace.
2001 marked the first vintage that a small crop of Tempranillo appeared on the previously unplanted, 1000 foot elevation hilltop ridge site. – This vineyard is known as ‘Rancho Chimiles’, and actually is a tiny piece of this amazing land area, once part of an original Mexican Land Grant, now owned by Terry and Lyn Wilson.
Having been in the right place at the right time, the Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard owned by Henry and Susan Hossfeld became the backbone of the Parador project. This dramatic site, steep and terraced has distinctive volcanic soils, located in the south-eastern Napa hills in an area known as Soda Canyon. The resulting Cabernet fruit is also quite distinctive; structured graphite and herbal scented, compelling flavors, reminiscent of a St. Estephe.
As the vintages of Parador progress, there is a refinement of the resulting wines and the philosophy behind the blends. Reserva cuvees are assembled and elevated in much the same way as reserve wines have been made in Spain and Italy for generations. Small lots of each special vineyard site are bottled to show the quality distinction of the fruit.
Steve Ventrello