The thumbnail description of today’s gorgeous Bordeaux-style blend is this: It has all the pedigree of Opus One without the accompanying price tag. One could argue, in fact, that Hyde de Villaine is just as high-profile a partnership as Opus One: It’s principals, Aubert de Villaine (of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti) and Larry Hyde (of Napa’s Hyde Vineyards), are titans of the wine industry.
Larry is heir to one of the oldest and most respected Californian farming dynasties, and has crafted wines of distinguished excellence since his first job as a cellar-worker at Ridge Vineyards in 1970. He’s called “The King of Carneros” for his visionary development of California’s second AVA. And Aubert...well, he really needs no introduction. Who could anticipate the director of the world’s most indisputably famous Burgundy estate would harbor a secret desire to make Cabernet Sauvignon in the Napa Valley? It’s the kind of story that only gets better and wilder and more beautiful as you fill in the facts, and today’s “Belle Cousine” Bordeaux-style blend holds the key to the meeting of these two genius-level winemaking minds. You’re going to have to read on for the full story but before you do, consider this: You currently have the ability to acquire an elite Napa Valley red made by two of the most respected names in wine—for $75. In today’s fine wine world, that counts as a steal. Not only is it the true pinnacle of what old-school expressions of Napa Cabernet have to offer as far as finesse, depth, and satisfaction, but the 2015 vintage is one of the top five of the century so far. So take a break from our story, purchase as many bottles as you can (you’re going to want to cellar a few!), and I’ll be here waiting with the next chapter. Go!
Like a lot of good stories, this one starts with an intelligent woman. Pamela Fairbanks brought the two visionary viticultural families together when she married Aubert de Villaine in 1971. You’d think Aubert’s name would be the most famous in their union, but Pamela carried her own weight as part of a Californian farming dynasty dating back to the early 1800s. In their wedding announcement in The New York Times, Aubert’s name didn’t even make the headlines.
Pamela introduced her new husband to her cousin, Larry Hyde, who was just entering the Californian wine industry. Aubert was grounded in the rich and meticulous traditions of France’s greatest winemakers while Larry embodied the pioneering spirit of the Wild West, but the two winemakers immediately connected over a shared love of questing for the cutting edge of wine. That’s how Aubert ended up in California a few years before in 1964, spending six months tasting wines and interviewing Robert Mondavi for the seminal French publication La Revue du Vin de France. He fell in love with the wines, the landscape, and Pamela Fairbanks. When the opportunity for a joint-venture with his wife’s family presented itself years later, there was no question in his mind: He wanted to make wine in California.
Growing up in Woodside, California, Larry would go visit his family’s cotton, melon, and alfalfa fields on the weekends. His love of viticulture was very much tied to a reverence for the Californian landscape and its respectful development. That’s why—after studying Chemistry at UC Davis and working several harvests at Ridge Vineyards and Joseph Phelps—he set out to establish and develop the entirely new wine region of “Los Carneros.” At the time, Carneros was just an accumulation of windswept fruit orchards on the outskirts of the Napa Valley, but Larry had enough experience with soil and climate to understand the potential for world-class wines of refined acidity and structure. He founded Hyde Vineyards in 1979 and the eponymous vineyard itself is the source for today’s Merlot and Cabernet fruit, fine-tuned to an insane level of concentration by the San Pablo Bay-cooled climate. Of course, the perfect blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon in today’s wine represents the perfect blending of the two families, and the name “Belle Cousine” is a well-deserved reference to Pamela Fairbanks de Villaine, who started it all.
The vines for Belle Cousine are in full maturity—anywhere from 15 to 31 years of age and deeply rooted in shallow loam over clay hardpan soils. Carneros is a full 30 degrees cooler than Calistoga on any given day, and the vines hold on to an intrinsic salinity from their proximity to the San Pablo Bay. 2015 was the fourth year of drought in California, and the vines were pushed to their limit. Yield was lower than usual but the grapes that did reach maturity were unrivaled in their depth and concentration. Just a little fruit...but the best fruit. Belle Cousine is made of 53% Merlot and 47% Cabernet Sauvignon. It spent 22 months in barrel, with an elegant dose of 30% new French oak for some toastiness and warmth to underpin that high-toned Carneros fruit. The 2015 was bottled unfined and unfiltered.
It goes without saying, but every wine made at Hyde de Villaine manages to embody the marriage of French and American winemaking styles. There’s finesse, perfume, aging potential and freshness, but Belle Cousine also has depth, structure, and richness. I recommend decanting for at least half an hour before enjoying in Bordeaux stems for the full olfactory fireworks present in this glossy wine. Perfumed purple flower notes of lilac and lavender take precedence on the nose, but black cherry and creme de cassis start to appear with a good swirl. It’s plush, layered, and nuanced—the palate has a trace of olive tapenade balanced by wild herbs and a whole bouquet of spices. The richness of the dark fruit is elevated by fresh acidity--my palate never gets tired. It makes sense that Aubert would fall in love with wines from Carneros; there’s so much minerality and life in these wines! The fine, firm tannins have softened a little over the past five years but this wine has enough stuffing for another 8-10 years of softening, although it’ll be darn near impossible to wait that long. In both the great French and American traditions, I’d keep it simple and pair it with a juicy steak frites. There aren’t many pleasures greater than a perfect blend and a perfect bite of ribeye.
Bon appétit!
