Araujo Estate

Araujo Estate represents one of the original California cult wineries. Created in the 1990s, Daphne and Bart Araujos bought the 65-hectare property in Calistoga, the northern most part of Napa Valley. This property included around 14 hectares of the Eisele vineyard, which was named after the previous owners, Milt and Barbara Eisele. The plot had actually been planted in the 1880s to Zinfandel and Riesling, but in 1964 the vines were replaced with Cabernet Sauvignon. Today, the Eisele vineyard is organically and biodynamically farmed. Araujo’s first vintage was 1991, which received an impressive 96 points from Robert Parker. In 1997, Parker wrote: "I had inserted this wine in a blind tasting. I did not know where it would appear, but I knew it would be in the tasting, and I was able to pick it out when it was served. However, the rest of the tasters thought it was a large-scaled Bordeaux from the Medoc. This magnificent California Cabernet offers that exciting blend of power and elegance…Typical of many top California wines, it combines magnificent richness and ripeness with a sense of gracefulness and complexity..." In addition to their estate Cabernet, the Araujos also produce a second wine called Altagracia. In 2013, the estate was purchased by François Pinault of Artemis, who also owns Château de Latour in Bordeaux, Domaine d'Eugénie in Burgundy and Château Grillet in the northern Rhône.