Alta Nova Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Alta Nova is a mantra for those who strive for more. From Latin it translates as New Heights. The saying embodies the ideals of reaching higher, thinking bigger, and expanding your scope. The ethos behind Alta Nova is very simple. At every summit in life, every milestone, there are those who have reached their destination and there are those who say, “what’s next?” Alta Nova is for those of us who fall into the latter camp.
When I finally passed the Master Sommelier exam after nine years and became one of less than 200 people in the world to achieve that distinction, the celebration was legendary! But soon after I was left in a state of melancholy. I needed to figure out what was next. I came to understand that some of us are just not fully happy unless we are chasing the unattainable.
The dream of Alta Nova came to me soon after I passed and left The French Laundry to work full time in the wine business. Starting a wine brand seemed absurdly out of reach. Nonetheless, I combed over ideas for wine names and found the aquatint etching on the label in a book of antique celestial maps. That image held my fascination because it is a reminder of how insignificant we are. More importantly, it is a reminder of how short our time here is. Many of us are compelled do more with our lives than just live, we must ascend.
The vision for Alta Nova is to create profound wines from elevated vineyard sites chasing the highest levels of quality. I was fortunate to find in Britt Richards, an intrepid winemaker who shares the same philosophy of what makes exceptional wines. Her talent as a winemaker and the support of my incredible wife and partner Genevieve have been paramount to Alta Nova becoming a reality. At this stage we are nowhere near the pinnacle. We are just getting to basecamp and the wines are already killer! It has taken many years to get here, but this is just the start of our climb, not the summit. I hope you will join us on the journey.
-Desmond Echavarrie, MS
The Wine
Bright ruby with crimson tones. Aromas of concentrated red and black cherry, cassis, cranberry and pomegranate. Savory notes of olive tapenade, tar, licorice, graphite, and pepper.
Full-bodied on the palate, but not heavy. The fruit and spice combination in this wine is dazzling. Firm tannins drive the finish of this cashmere-smooth Cabernet. Perfect to drink now, although the wine will improve further over the next 3 to 5 years.
The Winemaker
The Label
“LE FASI DELLA LUNA,” an aquatint etching originally on copperplate, shows the relationship of the Earth’s Orbit around the Sun and the Moon’s orbit around the earth.
