Decanter World Wine Awards'Don't call us a cult' – Screaming Eagle
- Monday 13 August 2012
In a rare visit to the highly secretive Oakville producer reported in September’s issue of Decanter, Adam Lechmere discovers that the c-word’s connotations of excess don’t sit well with general manager Armand de Maigret.
‘No-one calls us that [a cult] any more,’ de Maigret insists. ‘We’re a grand cru – a Napa first growth.
‘Cults are wines that show the winemaker’s hand. But here it’s not the winemaker making the wine, it’s the place.’
Meanwhile, winemaker Nick Gislason – previously with Craggy Range and Harlan Estate – reveals some of the secrets behind Screaming Eagle, a highly scarce and hugely expensive wine which releases a maximum of 800 cases of wine a year.
‘The best Merlot typically comes from the gravelly east end of the property, and it’s very atypical in character for Napa Merlot,’ explains Gislason.
‘On that site, it picks up amazing floral characters and minerality, and seems to have a spirit that lies somewhere between the minerality and perfume of Bordeaux, and the richness of Napa.’
Read the full Screaming Eagle profile in the September issue of Decanter magazine, available now in print, on iPad and via Zinio.
Have your say!
Morten
October 26 17:36
Ha ha ha - Cult is not a thing one can choose - It´s the buyers and the sommeliers around the world whom have given this predicate for the Chateau. And Grand Cru just meaning Great Growth, is something anyone can call their wine. Except for burgundy where it actually has a meaning. I think this shows ignorance with the general manager, and instead they should appreciate being cult.
Camille Azar
August 16 05:58
screaming eagle is a snob cult wine it is not and will never be a grand cru . I believe this is a marketing gimmic unfortunately it lacks finesse
Sin City
August 15 17:56
When they list it as Grand Cru, put that on the label. And list the other Grand Crus. "Nobody . . ?" Shades of Yogi Berra.
paul north
August 15 15:32
Well, this so called Grand Cru is now available at Southern California Costco stores for the mere price of $1700.00usd. Perhaps the cult status is starting to rub off.