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News
Nick Gislason, winemaker at Screaming Eagle: "This spring was one of the driest on record, and so vines pushed buds early. Then, a prolonged series of frosty nights kept us working hard in the vineyard to protect the young shoots from the cold. This was followed by a hot and dry spring that led to a lighter crop-load than usual with small, intensely flavoured berries that ripened relatively early. A warm and moderate summer naturally down-regulated the vigour of the vines, so that they could focus efforts on fruit maturation. This meant that a smaller but very intensely flavoured crop was picked mostly in the latter two weeks of September. For us, the 2008 Screaming Eagle would be considered a very characteristic vintage, having all of the freshness, floral and perfume elements, as well as finesse, that is classic for this estate. The 2008 vintage, although showing quite beautifully already, is likely to develop some nice nuances over the next 15-20 years as well.”
Wine Description
The Story
“First and foremost, I will be perpetuating the fresh, delicate style of wine that has been the Screaming Eagle hallmark since 1992. Across two winemakers before me (Heidi and Andy), that style has stayed remarkably consistent, which is part of the uniqueness of this ranch. The character of the vineyard really asserts itself. What will be new is the discovery of the young vine plots, and the ways that we can farm them individually to get the best site expression possible. It is a winemaker’s dream to be able to truly understand and manage a vineyard acre by acre and spend an enormous amount of time out there with the vines,” Nick Gislason, Winemaker.
One would not say that Screaming Eagle offers value versus price, but like Romanee-Conti it exists in another league. There is so little produced, with most of the production remaining in the US to be consumed domestically, that the global market clammers for whatever it can secure. Screaming Eagle is spectacular wine, a massive, fruit forward beast, with incredible dark fruits and power: it is a wonderful, special and breath-taking wine to drink.
Wine Information
2008 Napa vintage comments from the wine producers
Nick Gislason, winemaker at Screaming Eagle:
“This spring was one of the driest on record, and so vines pushed buds early. Then, a prolonged series of frosty nights kept us working hard in the vineyard to protect the young shoots from the cold. This was followed by a hot and dry spring that led to a lighter crop-load than usual with small, intensely flavoured berries that ripened relatively early. A warm and moderate summer naturally down-regulated the vigour of the vines, so that they could focus efforts on fruit maturation. This meant that a smaller but very intensely flavoured crop was picked mostly in the latter two weeks of September. For us, the 2008 Screaming Eagle would be considered a very characteristic vintage, having all of the freshness, floral and perfume elements, as well as finesse, that is classic for this estate. The 2008 vintage, although showing quite beautifully already, is likely to develop some nice nuances over the next 15-20 years as well.”