Recently, we had the pleasure of visiting Sullivan Rutherford Estate sitting on 26 acres of beauty in the heart of Napa. It is a boutique winery that has been making Bordeaux style wines since 1972.
James (Jim) O’Neil Sullivan founded this winery and his vision of making world class wines continued when the winery was sold in 2018.
Now under the guidance of Juan Pablo Torres Padilla, this winery continues their ‘quest to be the best’.
Our host today was Laura. She met us with a great smile and two glasses of Chardonnay when we arrived. Her passion and proud description of these great wines made for a very enjoyable day.
In addition to the 2018 Chardonnay, we tasted the 2016 Coeur Du Vigne, 2016 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, 2015 James O’Neil Merlot and 2015 James O’Neil Cabernet Sauvignon.
We especially enjoyed the 2016 Coeur Du Vigne which was a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 19% Cabernet Franc, 5% Malbec and 2% Petite Verdot.
The label on the bottle is also graced with a colorful painting by James O’Neil’s daughter. We took a couple of bottles home with us.
The peaceful, pastoral setting and perfectly manicured grounds reminded us of being in Ireland. This is a ‘must do’ Napa wine experience.
For more information and to make an appointment go to: Sullivanwine.com
