Abreu

David Abreu grew up in Napa. His family have been farming grape vines in the region well before Napa achieved the fame that is has today. He is a grape grower in the truest sense of the word. It runs in his veins. Over the years, his attention to the most minute detail in his farming has earned him the reputation for producing some of the region’s best grapes. He has sold his grapes and/or was the head of viticulture for many of Napa’s most renowned wineries: Colgin, Screaming Eagle, Bryant amongst others. Since 1993, he has kept a part of his grape production for his own Abreu Vineyards label, which is run by Brad Grimes.

The total production is barely 2000 cases a year. Abreu’s bottlings, Thorevilos, Madrona Ranch, Los Posadas and Cappella, are exceptionally hard to find. They are considered by many to be the very best wines not only in Napa, but in the world. His cuvée Rothwell Hyde is a blend of grapes and barrels sourced from his four growing sites, and is his version of a “second vin.” His five cuvées are all Bordeaux blends, predominately cabernet sauvignon but he is using more and more cabernet franc.

The fruit of exceptional viticulture in the most fabled terroirs of Napa, guided by Brad Grime’s precision winemaking, tasting any of Abreu’s wines is a unique experience. The wines are powerful, but are the liquid definition of balance and they show a complexity which tests the limits of wine vocabulary.