Staglin Family Vineyard 'Ineo' Proprietary Red Rutherford 2008

When Shari and Garen Staglin purchased this 61-acre parcel in 1985, they immediately placed it under organic management — a commitment that predated CCOF certification by two decades and set the estate apart from virtually every prestige neighbor on the Rutherford Bench. 'Ineo' is the proprietary red drawn from those same 51 acres, farmed without synthetic inputs since inception and certified organic since 2005.

The vineyard sits on an alluvial fan at the base of Mount St. John, the tallest peak in the Mayacamas Range. Millennia of erosion have deposited deep, slightly gravelly, volcanic-origin soils with exceptional drainage — the geological engine behind Rutherford's signature dusty, tannic grip and the dark-fruit density that distinguishes Bench fruit from valley-floor sources. Cool evenings driven by San Pablo Bay airflow preserve acidity through a long hang time.

Grapes are harvested in cool early mornings and processed through a 24,000 sq ft gravity-flow underground facility powered entirely by on-site solar energy. Fermentation employs a combination of stainless steel, concrete, and French oak vessels; the Cabernet Sauvignon backbone is aged in 90–100% new French oak barrels for approximately 22–24 months, building the structural architecture the 2008 vintage demanded.

What separates 'Ineo' from the Estate label is its proprietary blend architecture — a deliberate compositional departure designed to express the full Bordeaux palette of the site rather than a Cabernet-dominant single-variety statement. The 2008 vintage, a cool, structured Napa year, rewards patience; the wine is drinking into a broad window of maturity now through the mid-2030s.