Staglin Family Vineyard 'Salus' Cabernet Sauvignon

Launched in 1999, the Salus label carries a singular mandate in fine wine: every bottle sold channels proceeds toward brain health and mental health research, with the Staglin family having raised over $600 million for the cause since 1995 — a philanthropic architecture built directly into the wine's commercial identity. The fruit originates from 51 CCOF-certified organic acres on the Rutherford Bench at the base of Mount St. John, where alluvial soils of deep, slightly gravelly, volcanic-origin material — eroded over millennia from the Mayacamas Range — deliver the textural grip Rutherford winemakers call 'dust': a fine, chalky tannin structure unique to this bench. Cool evenings driven by San Pablo Bay airflow preserve aromatic tension against the site's sun-drenched days. The 2019 Salus is a Bordeaux blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Petit Verdot, fermented across stainless steel, concrete vats, and French oak barrels in Staglin's 24,000 sq ft gravity-flow underground facility. Oak aging runs in French oak barrels for approximately 22–24 months, with the Merlot component softening the structural density typical of the estate's single-varietal bottlings. What distinguishes Salus from its sibling Estate label is precisely this Merlot-weighted architecture: more accessible in youth, yet still rooted in the same organically farmed, single-estate terroir that defines the family's entire production. The 2019 vintage is not noted as a challenging year in the library, suggesting a sound, approachable release with the Rutherford Bench's characteristic dark-fruit concentration intact.