Estate Bottled Cabernet Sauvignon (1987)

About this wine

This is a Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley estate fruit, bottled under the producer Sequoia Grove as an Estate Bottled Cabernet Sauvignon. On the nose expect concentrated dark fruit aromas of black cherry and black currant with notes of tobacco and cedar from oak aging. The palate shows rich black fruit, a savory tobacco note, and restrained herbaceousness, supported by firm structured tannins and balanced acidity. The texture is plush yet balanced, with oak spice and vanilla lingering through a long finish. Sequoia Grove has historically sourced fruit from Rutherford and other Napa sites and typically ages this Napa Cabernet in French oak, practices that contribute to the wine's layered fruit and cedar character.

About the grape

Cabernet Sauvignon is a Bordeaux variety brought to Napa Valley in the 19th century and has been the backbone of Sequoia Grove since the estate planted its Rutherford vineyards and opened the winery in 1979. The grape is prized for its thick skins and firm tannins which suit Rutherford gravelly loam soils and the warm days and cool nights of the Rutherford bench where Sequoia Grove farms its estate blocks. At Sequoia Grove the variety is cultivated as part of an estate program focused on sustainable vineyard practices and careful lot selection, with fruit for the estate bottled Cabernet coming from their Rutherford estate and neighboring Napa growers. In the 1987 bottling Cabernet Sauvignon was used to showcase the site specific structure and aging potential that the winery had been developing since its first estate Cabernet in the early 1980s.

Quick facts

• 🏞️ The bottle comes from a property that was part of the original Rancho Caymus land grant from 1836, so your 1987 literally bottles a piece of Napa history.
• 🌲 Sequoia Grove is named for a small ring of giant sequoia trees planted around the old barn in 1908, and those trees still stand by the tasting room that greeted the 1987 harvest.
• 🏷️ The label reads “Estate Bottled” because Sequoia Grove long emphasized that their Cabs came from their own Rutherford estate vineyards rather than bought fruit — a point of pride for the 1987 release.
• 👨‍🌾 Founder Jim Allen collaborated in the winery’s early era with legendary Napa consultant André Tchelistcheff, so the style behind the 1987 estate Cabernet carries a direct line to one of California’s most influential winemakers.
• 🏅 Although Sequoia Grove’s highest-profile awards came a little before and after 1987 (Best American Cabernet in 1985 and Winery of the Year in 1988), the late-1980s run helped cement the brand’s reputation so your 1987 is from the winery’s break‑out era.

Palate profile

Producer

Sequoia Grove Winery, established in 1979 by James and Barbara Allen, is situated in Rutherford, Napa Valley, California. The winery is renowned for its commitment to crafting elegant, balanced wines that reflect the unique terroir of the region. Notably, the winery's tasting room is housed in a restored 100-year-old barn, nestled beneath a grove of majestic Sequoia trees planted in 1908, which inspired the winery's name. In 2002, the Kopf family acquired Sequoia Grove, continuing its legacy and further investing in vineyard expansion and sustainable practices.