Screaming Eagle 2012

The 2012 blend brings together 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, and 4% Cabernet Franc. Cassis, blackberry, and dark cherry form a saturated fruit core, lifted by honeysuckle, mint, and floral perfume. Liquorice, cedar, graphite, fine oak, and chocolate add detail without interrupting the wine's flow. Its hallmark is seamlessness: opulent fruit and considerable body are carried by ultra-fine tannins, so the palate feels complete rather than heavy. Merlot contributes suppleness through the centre, while Cabernet Franc adds fragrance and energy to Cabernet Sauvignon's depth. The finish is exceptionally persistent, gathering mineral, floral, and savoury accents around the dark fruit. Even at this level of concentration, the wine remains precise and harmonious. With air, mint and honeysuckle become more vivid, bringing cool aromatic contrast to the cassis and chocolate. A long decant can reveal its breadth today, but its density, fine tannin, and balance clearly support extended development under ideal cellar conditions.

Serve around 16–18°C in the largest appropriate Bordeaux glass and decant carefully for several hours. Choose a simple, exacting preparation: beef tenderloin, côte de boeuf, roast lamb, venison loin, or duck with a restrained jus. Porcini, truffle, celeriac, black lentils, rosemary, and roasted shallots can echo its earthy, graphite, and cedar dimensions. Avoid sticky sweetness, intense chilli, or excessive smoke; the point is to preserve the wine's floral lift and seamless texture. Mature Comté or aged Gouda can follow. Pour modest servings and revisit them over time, allowing cassis, mint, flowers, graphite, and chocolate to emerge in successive, beautifully defined layers.

Screaming Eagle is produced from a small Oakville estate whose limited volumes and meticulous selection have made it one of Napa Valley's rarest wines. The 2012 release is reported at roughly 820 cases, a scale that permits exacting attention to individual vineyard parcels and lots. Cabernet Sauvignon provides the wine's central architecture, with Merlot and Cabernet Franc used to refine texture and aroma. The estate's reputation is rooted in more than scarcity: its most celebrated vintages combine Napa ripeness with an unusually polished, flowing structure. In 2012, that equilibrium produced a wine whose opulence is inseparable from its fine tannin, perfume, and long mineral finish.

Store unopened on its side in a cool, dark, temperature-stable cellar with minimal vibration. Protect from heat, sunlight, and rapid temperature changes. Serve around 16–18°C and decant carefully. Contains sulphites.