Founded in 2009 by Julie and Justin Arbuckle, who met at the University of California in Berkeley and fell in love with the Napa Valley. They started to search for a property to purchase in 2006 with their sights set on the notable Mt. Veeder AVA, as longtime fans of other Mt. Veeder wines being produced from this terroir driven appellation. With the help of their realtor, they soon discovered and purchased a 50-acre property at 400 feet in elevation, where pleasant breezes on warm summer days kept the property cool. Typical of Mt. Veeder – especially in the southern part of the appellation – with the cooling air blowing up from the nearby San Pablo Bay to create a cooling effect on the vines. To the east, their property drops off dramatically into the Oak Knoll AVA. At the time of their purchase, the property was planted to a small vineyard of Merlot. With the help and encouragement of noted viticulturist, Mary Maher (long time vineyard manager for Harlan Estate), they soon planted additional acres of vines. Today the property features not only Merlot but Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and a touch of Petit Verdot.
In the early days of business development, Julie admits to have interviewed nearly 100 winemaker candidates, and over time one stood out. Jeff Ames accepted the challenge in launching this new brand with the Arbuckle’s and has made every vintage since their inaugural 2009 release. Prior to this time, Jeff’s friend Thomas Brown was leaving Turley Wine Cellars and Ames joined him as an assistant winemaker, working for such labels as Outpost and Schrader. Brown initially made the Tor wines, but Ames increasingly helped and by 2005, he had taken over as Tor Kenward's sole winemaker. In addition, he continues to craft his own label Rudius. The name “Anthem” was chosen for several reasons – not only for its patriotic value, but primarily because it is a word one associates with bringing people together – symbolizing what happens when wine is shared among family and friends.
Stunning silk-screened bottles that features the topography of the proprietors estate Mt. Veeder property on the front of the bottle and all of the key factors and decisions that went into making that particular wine ~ from vineyard sources, weather details including rainfall and sun exposure, soil composition, barrel specifics, winemaking techniques and aging methods.
Truly one of the very best values that you will find from the highly acclaimed Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard in St. Helena, a site owned and farmed by the admired grape grower, Andy Beckstoffer. This site is one of Andy’s six, highly sought-after heritage vineyards with roots tracing back 150 years. Las Piedras translates to “little pebbles” in Spanish, named for its gravelly river washed soils, a composition that is ideal for growing complex Cabernet grapes full of structure and laced with graphite nuances. The 2017 vintage is exceptionally plush, showing earthy spices and baked black plums, highlighted with velvety tannins and an appealing freshness. On the palate, this wine is medium to full bodied with ripe flavors of red and black fruits, on top of cedar, anise and light loamy earth aromas. These flavors and how they integrate together perfectly, blew us away! Aged in 100% new French oak for 18 months, then bottle-aged for an additional 20 months before release. It has the class to shine today, as well as keep for 15-20 years or more. Only 185 cases produced.
