Top Wines
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Red
Palmaz Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon
21,514 bottles
CT92.5 average score
Add to My Cellar -
Red
Palmaz Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Brasas
10,409 bottles
CT91.8 average score
Add to My Cellar -
Red
Palmaz Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Gaston
9,260 bottles
CT92.9 average score
Add to My Cellar
Top Tasters
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1. mdp.blue
58 Tasting Notes
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2. PDavisMarble
49 Tasting Notes
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3. Sammyboy24
46 Tasting Notes
Producer website
The Palmazes bought a forgotten stone winery, a fine old house badly in need of renovation, and acres of land that had once produced fine Napa wines. The little valley had been the site of Cedar Knoll Vineyard and Winery, founded in 1881 by Henry Hagen, one of Napa Valley's pioneer winemakers.
Henry Hagen produced wines that garnered many awards, including a silver medal at the Paris Exposition of 1889. During that era, Cedar Knoll was one of Napa's premier wineries. The vineyards survived the Wine Country’s phylloxera infestation in the 1890s, but Prohibition was fatal. The winery fell into disrepair and the vineyards lay fallow for nearly eighty years.
Today, the vineyards are burgeoning, the restored Hagen house is a family home again, and the winery has been reinvented.
acres of vineyards grow more than fourteen unique terroirs at three elevations — 400, 1200, and 1400 feet above sea level and are nurtured under the respectful tenets of sustainable agriculture. They thrive on the slopes of Mount George at the southern end of the Vaca Range. The foundation for it all is base rock laid down during the Pliocene volcanic age. Vineyard geography ranges from steep slopes with shallow nutrient-poor soils, which produce concentrated grapes, to stony colluvial deposits made up of cobbles, gravel, and sandy loam. Variations of soil type, sun exposure, and elevation produce a robust range of flavors and concentration to create a wine with balance and complexity.
The winery's 24 fermentation tanks accommodate the yields of individual blocks within the estate, vinifying each parcel’s grapes separately to preserve the unique characteristics intrinsic to the parcels. This provides a complete and pure palette for the winemaker’s art — tasting, appreciating, and blending individual lots to bring balance to the wine.
The vineyard is planted primarily with Cabernet Sauvignon, plus some small lots of Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, which are used as blend components for Palmaz wines. The vineyard is also planted with small lots of Chardonnay, Riesling, Muscat, and Malbec for limited production. The vines are hand pruned and trellised, with production carefully moderated to grow only the finest quality grapes.
Palmaz Vineyards' winemaking and aging takes place within the living rock of Mount George, in a flawlessly engineered maze of tunnels and lofty domes. The height of the wine cave is equivalent to an 18-storey building, providing the vertical range needed for true gravity-flow winemaking. Thus, the wine is never subjected to the violent agitation of pumping, which can change the wine’s intra-molecular structure. This gentle treatment allows the finest nuances of flavor to develop naturally—the result is a complex, elegant wine.
The fermentation dome is the world’s largest underground reinforced structure. It is 72’ in diameter and 54’ high.
Temperature stays constant at 60 degrees and humidity at 75%, the perfect atmosphere for aging wine.
The cave houses its own water treatment plant built to comply with strict conservation guidelines.
Fermentation tanks rotate on a custom-designed carousel.
For a truly unique wine tour and tasting, this winery represents the ultimate in technology-driven and focused delivery of Napa Valley's iconic wines. Appointments are necessary, but this is a must-see family operation.
The Palmazes bought a forgotten stone winery, a fine old house badly in need of renovation, and acres of land that had once produced fine Napa wines. The little valley had been the site of Cedar Knoll Vineyard and Winery, founded in 1881 by Henry Hagen, one of Napa Valley's pioneer winemakers.
Henry Hagen produced wines that garnered many awards, including a silver medal at the Paris Exposition of 1889. During that era, Cedar Knoll was one of Napa's premier wineries. The vineyards survived the Wine Country’s phylloxera infestation in the 1890s, but Prohibition was fatal. The winery fell into disrepair and the vineyards lay fallow for nearly eighty years.
Today, the vineyards are burgeoning, the restored Hagen house is a family home again, and the winery has been reinvented.
acres of vineyards grow more than fourteen unique terroirs at three elevations — 400, 1200, and 1400 feet above sea level and are nurtured under the respectful tenets of sustainable agriculture. They thrive on the slopes of Mount George at the southern end of the Vaca Range. The foundation for it all is base rock laid down during the Pliocene volcanic age. Vineyard geography ranges from steep slopes with shallow nutrient-poor soils, which produce concentrated grapes, to stony colluvial deposits made up of cobbles, gravel, and sandy loam. Variations of soil type, sun exposure, and elevation produce a robust range of flavors and concentration to create a wine with balance and complexity.
The winery's 24 fermentation tanks accommodate the yields of individual blocks within the estate, vinifying each parcel’s grapes separately to preserve the unique characteristics intrinsic to the parcels. This provides a complete and pure palette for the winemaker’s art — tasting, appreciating, and blending individual lots to bring balance to the wine.
The vineyard is planted primarily with Cabernet Sauvignon, plus some small lots of Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, which are used as blend components for Palmaz wines. The vineyard is also planted with small lots of Chardonnay, Riesling, Muscat, and Malbec for limited production. The vines are hand pruned and trellised, with production carefully moderated to grow only the finest quality grapes.
Palmaz Vineyards' winemaking and aging takes place within the living rock of Mount George, in a flawlessly engineered maze of tunnels and lofty domes. The height of the wine cave is equivalent to an 18-storey building, providing the vertical range needed for true gravity-flow winemaking. Thus, the wine is never subjected to the violent agitation of pumping, which can change the wine’s intra-molecular structure. This gentle treatment allows the finest nuances of flavor to develop naturally—the result is a complex, elegant wine.
The fermentation dome is the world’s largest underground reinforced structure. It is 72’ in diameter and 54’ high.
Temperature stays constant at 60 degrees and humidity at 75%, the perfect atmosphere for aging wine.
The cave houses its own water treatment plant built to comply with strict conservation guidelines.
Fermentation tanks rotate on a custom-designed carousel.
For a truly unique wine tour and tasting, this winery represents the ultimate in technology-driven and focused delivery of Napa Valley's iconic wines. Appointments are necessary, but this is a must-see family operation.
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Group wines by:
| wine type | Name, Type, Locale | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Rosé |
Palmaz Vineyards Rosé(View Label Image)Rosé, USA, California, Napa Valley |
|
| White |
Palmaz Vineyards Chardonnay(View Label Image)White, USA, California, Napa Valley |
|
| White |
Palmaz Vineyards Chardonnay Amalia(View Label Image)White, USA, California, Napa Valley |
|
| White |
Palmaz Vineyards Chardonnay Cedar Knoll Vineyard Co.White, USA, California, Napa Valley |
|
| White |
Palmaz Vineyards Chardonnay Russian River ValleyWhite, USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley |
|
| White |
Palmaz Vineyards Riesling(View Label Image)White, USA, California, Napa Valley |
|
| White |
Palmaz Vineyards Riesling Louise(View Label Image)White, USA, California, Napa Valley |
|
| Red |
Palmaz Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon(View Label Image)Red, USA, California, Napa Valley |
|
| Red |
Palmaz Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Brasas(View Label Image)Red, USA, California, Napa Valley |
|
| Red |
Palmaz Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Cedar Knoll Vineyard Co.(View Label Image)Red, USA, California, Napa Valley |
|
| Red |
Palmaz Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Cedar Knoll Vineyard Co. Hagen's Reserve(View Label Image)Red, USA, California, Napa Valley |
|
| Red |
Palmaz Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Estate(View Label Image)Red, USA, California, Napa Valley |
|
| Red |
Palmaz Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Gaston(View Label Image)Red, USA, California, Napa Valley |
|
| Red |
Palmaz Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Gaston Estate(View Label Image)Red, USA, California, Napa Valley |
|
| Red |
Palmaz Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Premiere Napa ValleyRed, USA, California, Napa Valley |
|
| Red |
Palmaz Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Premiere Napa Valley Lot No. 180Red, USA, California, Napa Valley |
|
| Red |
Palmaz Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Premiere Napa Valley Slippery Slope(View Label Image)Red, USA, California, Napa Valley |
|
| Red |
Palmaz Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon SangiviniRed, USA, California, Napa Valley |
|
| Red |
Palmaz Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon The Ultimate High Premiere Napa ValleyRed, USA, California, Napa Valley |
|
| Red |
Palmaz Vineyards Vino de NicoRed, USA, California, Napa Valley |
|
| Non-alcoholic |
Palmaz Vineyards Gastoncito(View Label Image)Non-alcoholic, USA, California, Napa Valley |
|
| Non-alcoholic |
Palmaz Vineyards Muscat Vino de Nico(View Label Image)Non-alcoholic, USA, California, Napa Valley |
|
| White - Sweet/Dessert |
Palmaz Vineyards Johannisberg Riesling(View Label Image)White - Sweet/Dessert, USA, California, Napa Valley |
|
| White - Sweet/Dessert |
Palmaz Vineyards Muscat Canelli Florencia(View Label Image)White - Sweet/Dessert, USA, California, Napa Valley |