How to make a blockbuster
Today when a Napa winery wants a blockbuster, they can follow a pattern of success.
First you start with a source of fruit that’s guaranteed to deliver big scores—like one of Andy Beckstoffer's perfectly-farmed, historic vineyards (To Kalon, Missouri Hopper, Georges III, Dr. Crane...) that spin gold.
Next, you add a hotshot winemaker (Philippe Melka, Thomas Rivers Brown, Paul Hobbs, Kirk Venge) who knows the vineyards and can get the big scores.
The final piece is marketing, usually high-octane marketing, to burnish an image and ultimately charge a higher price.
But there was no such formula for a Napa Cabernet blockbuster a few decades ago, when it was just being "discovered" by pioneers like Claus Janzen. Indeed, Janzen was one of Andy Beckstoffer’s first customers, well before the sites had their reputation for high-scoring wines. Being one of the first to sign on, Janzen gained access to prime blocks in Beckstoffer's historic Missouri Hopper vineyard in Yountville/Oakville and the most hallowed site in Napa, To-Kalon in the heart of Oakville.
Even winemaking talent was far less a sure bet when Janzen was getting started. Indeed, Kirk Venge was just a newbie when Janzen hired him as winemaker, becoming one of Venge's very first consulting clients. Now that Venge is a Napa superstar, Janzen's choice may seem obvious in hindsight.
If Claus Janzen helped create the formula for success, he and his son Kyle have never opted to use the final ingredient: flashy marketing. They don’t have a fancy ‘glittering’ winery, an estate chef and they don’t host luxury food and wine lunch experiences. They are happy to consistently make great wine from their star vineyards and sell it to their committed club members, and a handful of restaurants and retailers, rewarding them richly for doing so.
Those who know this can get a wine that matches the big boys like Schrader, Carter, TOR and others at a lower price point. Janzen holds the top score ever from Missouri Hopper (99pts) and is often among the top bottlings of To-Kalon. Both wines are priced close to the minimum price allowed by the Beckstoffer contract. Now that you know, you know.
The third wine in Janzen's single-vineyard Napa Cabernet offerings, Cloudy’s, comes from the small vineyard on the home estate on the slopes of Dutch Canyon above Duckhorn’s Three Palms, Hourglass’ Blueline and Switchback Ridge vineyards. Also made by Kirk Venge, Cloudy's is a silkier more elegant counterpart to its powerful stablemates from the Oakville bench, and shines at the dinner table with its lush and polished texture.
Gone are the days when California got first dibs on these wines—they are spread across the globe leaving less for us. Quantities are limited across the board, and just 20 cases remain of the Beckstoffer wines.