Tradition is one thing, but under various managements there were periods when virtual stagnation took place. When BV's winemaker for more than 30 years, the late Andre Tchelistcheff, returned to consult at his old home base in the last years of his life, he was shocked to be told that they were still doing things a certain way because that's the way he had done it 20 years before he had left for other ventures. Nevertheless, BV's history and tradition as a very serious producer still casts a giant shadow over the entire winemaking and marketing team, as I suppose it should. The story I'm told, is that the winemaking team, giddy with the new found freedom to experiment, decided to create the absolute best red wine possible by blending odds and ends of wines left over from their regular winemaking. The wine they came up with is stunning.
Wineries have two choices when naming such wines.
The other choice is to make up a fantasy name, a proprietary, copyrightable name that consumers can identify with. Enough about history and how this new wine came to be. Let me tell you a little more about the release, quantities and the wine's possible future. There is only a little more than 600 dozen of this really exceptional bottling. It will first be released into the winery's Napa Valley tasting room on May 1st.