robin daniel lail founder 1995 · to be some of the world's best cabernet sauvignons from the...
TRANSCRIPT
Robin Daniel Lail
Founder
1995
FOURTH GENERATION VINTNER
ROBIN DANIEL LAIL
Due to internal circumstances, the winery and front vineyards were
sold in 1964. The legacy seemed to be coming to an end. Fortunately,
John Daniel, Jr. was a traditionalist and placed responsibility for
carrying the tradition forward into Robin’s hands shortly before his
death in 1970. Robin and her sister were able to preserve the iconic
Napanook vineyard just a few miles south in Yountville from ensuing
sales.
Robin Daniel Lail came to Napa Valley
in a receiving blanket in 1940 and grew
up at the fabled Inglenook Vineyards.
Inglenook was established by her great-
granduncle Gustave Niebaum in 1879,
and his magnificent property was home
to four generations of her family and
their legendary wines.
During the late 70s, Robert
Mondavi (who was John Daniel,
Jr.’s protégée) hired Robin and
became her mentor. Including the
education in the wine business she
received, “every day Mondavi
encouraged me to honor my
father’s legend and our generations
in Napa Valley and carry forward
the legacy.”
So began the odyssey.
(L-R) Robert Mondavi & John Daniel, Jr., 1968
Dominus Co-founder and Partner with
Christian Moueix and Marcia
Daniel Smith - 1982
Merryvale Co-Founder and President
with
Bill Harlan - 1983
Lail Vineyards Founder with partners
Shannon and Erin Lail -1995
(L-R) Shannon, Robin and Erin Lail (L-R) Christian Moueix, Robin Daniel Lail and Marcia
Daniel Smith.
C A P T A I N G U S T A V E N I E B A U M
Having built a fortune by the age of 34,
this Swedish man from Helsinki, Finland was
looking for a new business venture. Being a
wine connoisseur and a visionary, he was
drawn to Napa Valley and its potential to
make the finest wines in the world.
After purchasing the Inglenook property
1879, Niebaum planted 200 acres of
vineyards from cuttings from Europe and
built an imposing stone winery. This man,
obsessed with excellence, produced the
first estate-bottled, Bordeaux-style wine in
California.
Gustave Niebaum was a leader in the California wine business
and pioneered planting blocks of vineyard with tight spacing,
double sorting grapes at harvest, packaging in glass bottles and
establishing a brand and a nationwide marketing organization.
A follower of Louis Pasteur, Inglenook wine was pristine.
His motto of "Quality, not quantity" inspired new standards of
excellence in California winemaking, for his generation and
generations to come. At the 1889 Paris World Fair, his wine
received a unique award for ‘purity and excellence’.
J O H N D A N I E L , J R .
“He taught not by words alone, but by example -
the mark of a truly knowledgeable man.”
-Robert Mondavi
Great-nephew to Inglenook's founder
Gustave Niebaum, John Daniel, Jr.
played a key role in a small, dynamic
group of vintners who rebuilt the fine
winemaking practices of Napa Valley
and California following the repeal of
Prohibition in 1933.
He was extensively involved in the foundation and leadership of the Wine
Institute of California and the Napa Valley Vintners as well as the State Wine
Advisory Board.
(L-R) Robert Mondavi, Charles Forni, Madame Depins,
John Daniel, Jr. and Al Hunsinger
At 26 years old, Daniel became
owner and Managing Director in
1936. Robert Mondavi was his
protégée and shared the vision that
Napa Valley could produce wines
second to none. He had an intense
passion for Inglenook’s history and
potential and for the wines of Napa
Valley and California.
Daniel was the first to put Napa
Valley as an appellation on wine, and
pioneered vintage-dating and varietal
labeling. He produced the first Rose
in California following Prohibition.
The back labels for his wines were
written to be information, friendly
and fun. He created small bottlings
of ‘cask’ Cabernets.
While restoring Inglenook's fame,
Daniel made what many considered
to be some of the world's best
Cabernet Sauvignons from the mid
1930s to the 1960s, creating a legacy
of excellence for Cabernet
Sauvignons for future generations of
California winemakers.
1933 Inglenook Cabernet Sauvignon
The first vintage produced after the repeal of Prohibition
P H I L I P P E M E L K A
WINEMAKER
One of the most highly respected and
successful of the French-born, Bordeaux-
educated oenologists working in California,
Melka has been with Lail Vineyards since its
first vintage.
“My recent naming as one of the top
9 wine consultants in the world by
Robert Parker has been truly humbling,
and a terrific honor. But my pursuit
of excellence in this field I’m so passionate
about has only just begun.” - Philippe Melka
Philippe has been making wines for Lail Vineyards since 1995. He is
considered by the Lails as both a genius and a member of the
family…
At Lail, the philosophy is that brilliant wines originate in the vineyard,
but the brilliance is polished importantly by the winemaker at two
specific times – the decision of when to pick the grapes and the
making of the blend.
With the work of our outstanding farming team at Silverado Vineyard
Management and Mother Nature, the magic of the winemaker enables
the wines of Lail to sing opera.
“Each new vintage is both a challenge and an inspiration.
Every year we focus on the care of our land and our vineyards
and to produce wines that are just a little bit better than the
year before. Each year we have a new opportunity to bring a
touch of magic into the world.”
R O B I N D A N I E L L A I L
OUR VINEYARDS
T O T E M E S T A T E V I N E Y A R D
Y O U N T V I L L E
Totem Vineyards in Yountville is on the site of the first vineyard planted
in 1839 by George Yount. Our family has worked this vineyard for
generations since 1946. We are custodians of more than land at Totem,
we are caretakers of a piece of history.
The current vineyard was planted in 1988 and grafted to Merlot. In
2006 the vines were t-budded to Sauvignon Blanc and the clay and
loam soil vineyard is dry-farmed.
Totem Vineyard in Yountville is on the
site of the first vineyard planted in
Napa Valley in 1839 by George Yount.
Our family has worked this vineyard for
generations since 1946. Today, these 3
acres in Yountville produce the fruit for
our highly lauded Georgia Sauvignon
Blanc. Only 300 cases are produced
each year.
M O L E H I L L E S T A T E V I N E Y A R D
H O W E L L M O U N T A I N
In 1996, The Lail family acquired a special vineyard site high atop Howell Mountain.
Mole Hill was named in homage to a wine created by Robin’s father, John Daniel, Jr.
The story goes that when Daniel’s great friend, Louis Martini Sr., made a wine in the
1950s, the irony of him labeling it Mountain Red was not lost on
Daniel since Martini’s wine was from a rolling hillside vineyard versus
the precipitous mountain vineyards of Europe.
A brilliant man with a celebrated sense of humor and
a particular love of puns, Daniel responded with Inglenook
Mole Hill Red, whose whimsical label featured a very cute mole with a
magnifying glass checking a small pile of dirt.
The 3 acre vineyard’s west-facing
gentle slope has shallow soils with
rocks that rise to the surface like cream
in coffee, creating a spartan home for
the vines and generating a stunning
concentration of flavors in the grapes.
Each year, we harvest Mole Hill multiple
times to capture the unique flavors
expressed in each part of the vineyard.
OUR PORTFOLIO
B L U E P R I N T W I N E S
Blueprint wines are Lail Vineyards modern interpretation of
Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon, capturing the abundant
sunshine of Napa Valley and transforming it into intensely flavorful
wines meant for early release and enjoyment in a delicious crowd-
pleasing style.
B L U E P R I N T S A U V I G N O N B L A N C
F E R M E N T E D I N
F R E N C H O A K ; A G E D I N
S T A I N L E S S S T E E L
~ 1 0 0 0 C A S E S P R O D U C E D
C R O C K E R V I N E Y A R D
( S T . H E L E N A )
F A R E L L A V I N E Y A R D
( C O O M B S V I L L E )
R E W A V I N E Y A R D
( C O O M B S V I L L E )
1 0 0 % S A U V I G N O N B L A N C
C A B E R N E T S A U V I G N O N
P E T I T V E R D O T
M O L E H I L L E S T A T E V I N E Y A R D
( H O W E L L M O U N T A I N )
V I N E H I L L R A N C H V I N E Y A R D
( O A K V I L L E )
H E I M A R K V I N E Y A R D
( C A L I S T O G A )
E V A N S V I N E Y A R D
( C O O M B S V I L L E )
L A M B E R T V I N E Y A R D
( C O O M B S V I L L E )
S A N S A V I N O V I N E Y A R D ( Y O U N T V I L L E )
~ 1 8 M O N T H S I N F R E N C H
O A K ; ~ 4 0 % N E W
~ 1 5 0 0 C A S E S P R O D U C E D
B L U E P R I N T C A B E R N E T S A U V I G N O N
Georgia Sauvignon Blanc
represents the first family
member of our sixth
generation and uniquely
expresses a Graves-like
style.
F L A G S H I P W I N E S
J. Daniel Cuvée Cabernet
Sauvignon is named after
Robin’s father, our
ancestor to the Lail legacy.
Mole Hill Cabernet
Sauvignon comes from our
Howell Mountain estate
vineyard and is made only
from exceptional vintages.
1 0 0 % S A U V I G N O N B L A N C
T O T E M E S T A T E V I N E Y A R D ( Y O U N T V I L L E )
~ 1 8 M O N T H S I N 1 0 0 %
N E W F R E N C H O A K
~ 3 0 0 C A S E S P R O D U C E D
G E O R G I A S A U V I G N O N B L A N C
–R O B E R T P A R K E R , J R .
“For my palate, Lail’s Georgia is California’s most complex and multi-
dimensional Sauvignon Blanc.”
1 0 0 % C A B E R N E T S A U V I G N O N
M O L E H I L L E S T A T E V I N E Y A R D
( H O W E L L M O U N T A I N )
V I N E H I L L R A N C H V I N E Y A R D ( O A K V I L L E )
H E I M A R K V I N E Y A R D ( C A L I S T O G A )
~ 1 8 M O N T H S I N F R E N C H O A K
B A R R E L S , ~ 8 0 % N E W
~ 8 0 0 C A S E D P R O D U C E D
J . D A N I E L C U V É E C A B E R N E T S A U V I G N O N
–R O B E R T P A R K E R , J R .
W I N E A D V O C A T E , O C T O B E R 2 0 1 4
“The 2012 J.Daniel Cuvée Cabernet Sauvignon is
…absolutely perfect.” 100 Points
1 0 0 % C A B E R N E T S A U V I G N O N
M O L E H I L L E S T A T E V I N E Y A R D
( H O W E L L M O U N T A I N )
~ 1 8 M O N T H S I N F R E N C H O A K
B A R R E L S , 1 0 0 % N E W
~ 1 2 5 C A S E S P R O D U C E D
M O L E H I L L C A B E R N E T S A U V I G N O N
The Mole Hill Cabernet Sauvignon is a rare wine, made only in exciting vintage
years. The mole trail on the label is a unique design each release.
“This is Howell Mountain at it’s finest!” - Philippe Melka, Winemaker
With all the beautiful grapes at Mole Hill, somebody has to guard them!
The 21st Century incarnation of the unending
quest for perfection since 1879.
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