With a decade-long friendship between them, Russell Bevan and Josh Peoples came together and created a plan to “selfishly aim to create deep, hedonistic wines that we love to drink. We share what is left with those who never apologize for what they love.” That plan turned into Institution, an unapologetically, zero compromise approach to luxury Napa Valley wines. Established in 2018 and released just this year, Institution is sure to be at the top of the next wave of cult labels!
Winemaker: Russell Bevan- To say that Russell Bevan’s fingerprints loom large over the Napa Valley might be an understatement. With fifteen 100-point wines and counting, the only thing bigger than his impact might be his personality. His path to wine superstardom started with a Masters in Philosophy from Gonzaga, followed by a syndicated column with Wine Spectator. From there he taught himself how to make wine, and the rest is history. Institution, Elyse, Addax, PerUs, Stu Lerner, Adversity and Bevan Cellars all count themselves among the lucky few labels to have Bevan’s virtuoso winemaking in their bottles.
Vineyard: Erba Vineyard- Atlas Peak AVA-This site possesses the attributes for a unique terroir with features of steep slopes at high elevations of 1100 to 1550 feet above sea level with very rocky volcanic soils. Located directly next to Atlas Peak, the vineyard has a unique microclimate. It is above the morning fog which allows abundant sunshine throughout the day to ripen the grapes fully. Cooling westerly breezes come over the mountain ridge midday and in the late afternoon the mountain ridge shades the hot afternoon sun. The vineyard was developed into 14 blocks with a total of 20 acres planted. Each block has varying row direction and slope and therefore each block is harvested separately for optimum ripeness. Tight vineyard spacing was used to give the vines more competition to improve grape quality. All five Bordeaux varieties, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec, as well as Syrah are planted. Cabernet Sauvignon accounts for approximately 70% of the vineyard plantings.
Winemaking: Napa has seen a remarkable run of above-average vintages for the majority of the last 10 years, but 2018 might just be the cherry on top! Perfect conditions existed throughout the growing season and winemakers were able to pick when their desired ripeness showed itself. When it was finally time to bring the Cabernet in, they were hand sorted, brand new, tightly grained, high-quality French barrels. The wine is then matured in these vessels for 22 months behind a cellar door that was originally shut and “locked” by a pair of scissors, hence the front label design.
Profile: Institution’s 2018 “Erba Vineyard” Cabernet Sauvignon pours an opaque dark purple-ruby core that spills out to a bright magenta rim. This is Napa hedonism in a glass that effuses huge, dark-hued liqueurs of black cherry, black raspberry, and plum alongside crème de cassis, huckleberry, cedar, cigar wrapper, candied violet, cinnamon, damp herbs, cacao, and licorice. Bravo!
450 cases produced
