The estate’s flagship wine since its inaugural 2000 vintage, SLOAN Proprietary Red (500 cases made each vintage) is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot. It has a unique character that stems from the Sacrashe vineyard high above Rutherford. In Four Corners Wine’s opinion it’s akin to Lafite in its style, but there’s a palpable sense of energy and complex terroir that really elevates it. Parker has often likened it to a Mouton/Cheval Blanc hybrid, but what does he know…
Layered with remarkable complexity and intensity of flavours and aromas, SLOAN exhibits a gorgeous tension between elements of grace and power, balance and opulence, as well as age and vibrancy. It is a precise wine with defined structure and immense aging potential and at the same time, a seductive wine of exceptional fruit finesse, minerality, and multi-layered mouthfeel. Crafted with meticulous care from vine to bottle and exacting standards for achieving the highest quality, this uninhibitedly rich and extraordinarily pure wine is a beautiful, raw expression of our terroir – a reflection of our soils, climate, and its place of origin. The 2002 and 2007 vintages of SLOAN achieved the highest critical acclaim of “a perfect wine”.
Since its debut with the 2004 vintage, ASTERISK Proprietary Red (500 cases made each vintage) represents the second cuvée from SLOAN ESTATE, showcasing an alternate yet elegant and compelling expression of the terroir. Charming and bold, it is made from mostly Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. Produced under the same obsessive attention to detail and unyielding standards as SLOAN, ASTERISK is juicy and sensual, offering an explosion of fruit aromas and flavours. While it holds the promise of aging potential, it is a splendidly inviting wine that is intended to satisfy the desire for instant gratification.
Both wines see 26 months in French Oak, (Darnajou and Taransaud) 100% new. Martha and the team process half of the fruit by barrel fermentation and half in stainless steel to help better manage the smaller lots. All wines see an extended maceration period after a cold soak.