From Sparrow’s red wine by the bottle list, the Antica Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 is a mountain-grown Napa Valley Cabernet from the Antinori family’s Atlas Peak estate ($305 by the bottle). It is the Italian wine dynasty’s California chapter, and a real treat for Eastside Cabernet lovers.
About Antica Cabernet Sauvignon
Antica is the Napa Valley estate of the Antinori family, the same six-hundred-year-old Tuscan house behind Solaia and Tignanello. The name is an acronym for Antinori in California. Piero Antinori first saw the high-elevation property in the eastern mountains of Napa Valley in 1985, drawn by its altitude and stony soils, and the family purchased the full estate in 1993. They developed it patiently for years, taking countless soil samples to decide which Bordeaux clones to plant on each of the dozens of vineyard blocks, before releasing the first wines in 2007. The estate sits high on Atlas Peak, with vineyards planted on a mountain plateau well above the valley floor. That elevation brings cooler nights and a long, even growing season, which is exactly the kind of site that gives mountain Cabernet its structure and depth. This bottling carries the 2014 vintage from that Atlas Peak estate.
Tasting Notes
Atlas Peak is known for producing Cabernet with firm structure and concentrated dark fruit, and that is the style to expect here. Mountain-grown Napa Cabernet tends to show deep cassis and black cherry, notes of cedar and baking spice from French oak aging, and a tannin backbone that gives the wine real length. A wine with this much structure benefits from a decant, and the extra bottle age on the 2014 helps it show its softer, more savory side.
What to Pair It With
This is a steakhouse-style Cabernet. From the Sparrow dinner menu, pour it with one of the American Wagyu steaks, the American Wagyu Steak Sandwich, or the Sparrow-Smoked Rack. The tannins and dark fruit are built for rich, charred beef.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Antica Cabernet from?
Antica is the Antinori family’s Napa Valley estate high on Atlas Peak. This Cabernet Sauvignon is grown on that mountain estate, and the name Antica stands for Antinori in California.
How much is Antica Cabernet at Sparrow?
The Antica Cabernet Sauvignon is $305 by the bottle at Sparrow in Kirkland, on our red wine by the bottle list.
What makes Atlas Peak Cabernet special?
Atlas Peak vineyards sit high in Napa Valley’s eastern mountains, where cooler nights and stony soils produce Cabernet with firm structure, concentrated dark fruit, and the ability to age.
Find it on the Sparrow beverages menu near the Martis Cabernet and the Northstar Cabernet. We are in Kirkland’s Juanita neighborhood on the Eastside, so reserve a table and come pour a glass.