2019 Founders’ Reserve (Sold Out)

“The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon William & Mary Founders’ Reserve is a tiny three barrel cuvee token from a bench on the southernmost portion of the property. Mocha, tobacco, spice and leather meld into layers of dark red-fleshed fruit. Statuesque and compelling, the Founders’ Reserve more than lives up to its billing as the top wine here.” -Antonio Gallioni, Vinous (Oct. 2021) 97+ points

Ratings

Joe Czerwinski, The Wine Advocate (Oct. 2021) 97+ points
“A selection of three new barrels (71 cases) from the vineyard’s oldest vines, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon William and Mary Founder’s Reserve is an homage to winery founders Bill and Mary Seavey. More intensely concentrated than the Estate Cabernet, it’s also more tannic and stern but still boasting classic cassis, dark earth and dark chocolate notes. Full-bodied and rich, it’s tannic but ripe, with a long, velvety finish.”

Jeb Dunnuck (March 2022) 97+ points
“A best barrel selection, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Founders’ Reserve is in the same qualitative realm as the classic Cabernet yet is made in a bigger, richer, riper style. Don’t worry, it’s still classic, old school Seavey goodness and has full-bodied aromas and flavors of cassis, blackberries, graphite, and chocolate. There are a scant 71 cases out there, but this is special juice worth tracking down. Full-bodied and opulent on the palate, give it 4-5 years to shed some baby fat and it too will keep for 25-30 years. Readers will love comparing this and the classic cuvée over the coming decades!”

Antonio Galloni, Vinous (Oct. 2021) 97+ points
“The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon William & Mary Founders’ Reserve is a tiny three barrel cuvee token from a bench on the southernmost portion of the property. Mocha, tobacco, spice and leather meld into layers of dark red-fleshed fruit. Statuesque and compelling, the Founders’ Reserve more than lives up to its billing as the top wine here.”

Vineyard Notes

Our Founders’ Reserve pays tribute to our founders’ Bill and Mary Seavey and was crafted from two special blocks in our estate vineyard that were planted in the 1990s. These blocks, known only to us in-house, provide delicate concentration and tannic structure to produce an elevated and impressive age-worthy Cabernet. The 2019 season began with the vineyard soil profile filled with moisture from abundant rainfall followed by a late spring and a long warm summer. The growing conditions were nearly ideal, with steady sun during the day and cooler marine influences at night into the late morning. This resulted in the refined power and savoriness we have come to expect with this limited reserve cuvée. These specific vineyard blocks of Cabernet grapes were harvested October 15-17th.

Production Notes

Seavey separately harvests, vinifies, and ages each vineyard block of our grapes. Our Founders’ Reserve is produced from the best two block of Cabernet Sauvignon on our property and amounts to 3 barrels. Our winemaking follows classic Bordeaux methods with intensive grape selection, long fermentations, and ageing in the tightest-grain French oak barrels. In the cool of the autumn night, grapes from our 2019 harvest were promptly harvested and delivered within minutes to the winery. Following fermentation, the wine was aged in 100% New French oak barrels for 20 months before bottling in June 2021.

100% ESTATE GROWN, PRODUCED & BOTTLED, NAPA VALLEY AVA