From Baseball Star To Master Vintner: Introducing Alpha Omega

Alpha Omega is exceptional Napa producer based in Rutherford, the premium heart of the valley, and a stylistic and philosophical counterpoint to its famous neighbours in Inglenook and Beaulieu Vineyards. Founder Robin Baggett was a star college baseballer at California Polytechnic State University and high-flying lawyer for more than 40 years. From 1988 he took the plunge into the wine world and successfully developed more than 750 acres of vineyards on California’s Central Coast.

Together with his wife, Michelle, and the backing of several investors, Robin made the move to Napa and founded Alpha Omega in 2006. He is the former General Counsel of the Golden State Warriors, Chair of the Napa Valley Vintners, a renowned philanthropist and formidable chef on the grill. The Alpha Omega wines are a reflection of his talent, high standards and gregarious personality.

Alpha Omega has a small core of estate vineyards but is not an estate-only wine house. They source grapes from exceptional sites right across Napa, including valley floor and mountain terrains, and from some of Napa’s best-known single vineyards.

It’s therefore known for the quality of its Napa Cabernet Sauvignon blends and a handful of rare single vineyard wines that include To Kalon, Missouri Hopper, Dr Crane, Stagecoach and Las Piedras. Access to Napa’s finest sites allows winemaker Jean Hoefliger and famed international winemaking consultant Michel Rolland to craft a range of seductive, beautifully textured wines that drink well from the outset and over the medium term. These represent a more accessible style to the cellar-worthy wines of Inglenook and Beaulieu Vineyards, ideal for restaurant lists and by-the-glass pouring, and are therefore excellent inclusions to a balanced portfolio that yields in the short and medium term.

Since the beginning Alpha Omega has focussed on product quality and style before building out its hospitality functions, giving them a solid reputation amongst critics and peers since their first vintage. Notably they conduct most of their red ferments in oak barrels, an incredibly labour-intensive technique but one that ensures fabulous oak integration and the rapid condensation of long, velvety tannins. It’s a technique almost prohibitively expensive elsewhere and made famous by the likes of Penfolds in South Australia who first developed it but only use it for the end of fermentation, not its entirety.

Oeno is proud to be the exclusive importer of Alpha Omega and these wines have never before been available in the UK or in Europe.

Alpha Omega Proprietary Red 2017

Proprietary Red is a classic Bordeaux Left bank blended style made from Cabernet Sauvignon (79%), with a little Merlot (10%), Cabernet Franc (7%), and Petit Verdot (4%). A majority of the wine (80%) is barrel fermented in new French oak giving it a lustrous, satiny texture and layers of flavour. Grapes are sourced from across Napa, including the cooler areas of Coombsville and Spring Mountain, as well as more powerful sites on Atlas Peak (Stagecoach), St Helena, and Howell Mountain. Proprietary Red is a benchmark style for the valley showing complex layers of freshness, structure and generous fruit.

Alpha Omega ERA 2017

ERA is the flagship wine from Alpha Omega and one of the standout blends in Napa. Bolder and more opulent than the Proprietary red this is an impactful wine ideal for hedonists and collectors. Made from Cabernet Sauvignon (94%) and a little Malbec (6%), ERA is sourced from the most illustrious and historic vineyards in Napa and includes grapes from Beckstoffer To Kalon (Oakville), Beckstoffer Las Piedras (St Helena), Thomas Vineyard (Rutherford), Sleeping Lady (Yountville), and Drew Vineyard (Mt Veeder). Fabulously complex with layers of crème de cassis, mountain pine, crushed flowers, freshly roasted coffee and fine, sweet tannins this is a sensational wine. Extremely limited production.

Alpha Omega Stagecoach Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2010

Stagecoach vineyard sits on Atlas Peak, 1,800 feet above the eastern side of Napa and looking down over Stag’s Leap District. The is a warm area with lots of sunshine and poor soils with excellent drainage that generates incredibly intense berries. The vineyard was developed by the Krupp brothers in 1995 on low vigour rocky, volcanic soils. The 650-acre vineyard is the largest mountain vineyard in Napa, and has supplied top quality Cabernet sauvignon grapes to many of Napa’s top growers – in 2017 it was sold for $250 million.

There are a host of factors that make Stagecoach such a remarkable vineyard and the producer of such highly sought-after wines. The high altitude and proximity to San Pablo Bay are the source of freshness, brightness and acidity. The west-facing aspect and thin, rocky volcanic soils enable long exposure to warmth and sunshine and the low vigour enables the ripening of grapes with prodigious flavour, colour and tannin.

The 2010 is a great vintage in Napa showcasing ideally balanced styles with excellent ageing capacity. This wine is ideal for top restaurants or collectors to enjoy now or over the next decade.

For further information and to reserve your allocation, please contact your account manager or the Oeno team at info@oenofuture.com.

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