Rarity Rutherford Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Magnum (1.5 L)

Georges de Latour purchased the first parcels of what would become BV Ranch No. 1 in 1903–1904, planting Cabernet Sauvignon on the western Rutherford Bench at the Mayacamas Mountain foothills — the same ground that André Tchelistcheff would later identify as the source of Napa's most distinctive tannin signature. The Rarity Rutherford draws from those original bench holdings, where deep alluvial fan deposits of gravel, sand, and loam force root systems downward, restricting yields and concentrating flavour in small, thick-skinned berries. Morning fog off San Pablo Bay extends the growing season, preserving acidity through full phenolic ripeness.

Fermentation runs long and slow — up to 60 days per lot — across a combination of stainless steel, French oak tanks, and 60-gallon new French oak barrels, with gentle hourly pump-overs for cap management. A cold soak precedes fermentation; malolactic fermentation is conducted in barrel, knitting oak and fruit before the wine enters its aging phase in new French oak. The 1.5 L magnum format slows oxygen ingress through the cork, compressing the aging curve and extending the window for tannin resolution.

What separates this expression is its explicit site declaration — Rutherford AVA rather than a broader Napa Valley designation — staking the wine's identity entirely on the cocoa-powder, gravelly-earth tannin character the Rutherford Dust Society was founded to protect. The 2013 Napa vintage delivered a long, even growing season with no heat spikes at harvest, producing structured wines with natural freshness and dark-fruit density built for extended cellaring.