Robin Daniel Lail

Founder 1995 FOURTH GENERATION VINTNER ROBIN DANIEL LAIL Robin Daniel Lail came to Napa Valley in a receiving blanket in 1940 and grew up at the fabled Inglenook Vineyards. Inglenook was established by her great- granduncle Gustave Niebaum in 1879, and his magnificent property was home to four generations of her family and their legendary wines.

Due to internal circumstances, the winery and front vineyards were sold in 1964. The legacy seemed to be coming to an end. Fortunately, John Daniel, Jr. was a traditionalist and placed responsibility for carrying the tradition forward into Robin’s hands shortly before his death in 1970. Robin and her sister were able to preserve the iconic Napanook vineyard just a few miles south in Yountville from ensuing sales.

During the late 70s, Robert Mondavi (who was John Daniel, Jr.’s protégée) hired Robin and became her mentor. Including the education in the wine business she received, “every day Mondavi encouraged me to honor my father’s legend and our generations in Napa Valley and carry forward the legacy.”

So began the odyssey. (L-R) Robert Mondavi & John Daniel, Jr., 1968 Dominus Merryvale Lail Vineyards Co-founder and Partner with Co-Founder and President Founder with partners Christian Moueix and Marcia with Shannon and Erin Lail -1995 Daniel Smith - 1982 Bill Harlan - 1983

(L-R) Christian Moueix, Robin Daniel Lail and Marcia (L-R) Shannon, Robin and Erin Lail Daniel Smith. C A P T A I N GUSTAV E NIEBAUM

Having built a fortune by the age of 34, this Swedish man from Helsinki, Finland was looking for a new business venture. Being a wine connoisseur and a visionary, he was drawn to Napa Valley and its potential to make the finest wines in the world.

After purchasing the Inglenook property 1879, Niebaum planted 200 acres of vineyards from cuttings from Europe and built an imposing stone winery. This man, obsessed with excellence, produced the first estate-bottled, Bordeaux-style wine in California. Gustave Niebaum was a leader in the California wine business and pioneered planting blocks of vineyard with tight spacing, double sorting grapes at harvest, packaging in glass bottles and establishing a brand and a nationwide marketing organization. A follower of Louis Pasteur, Inglenook wine was pristine.

His motto of "Quality, not quantity" inspired new standards of excellence in California winemaking, for his generation and generations to come. At the 1889 Paris World Fair, his wine received a unique award for ‘purity and excellence’. J O H N DANIEL , JR.

“He taught not by words alone, but by example - the mark of a truly knowledgeable man.” -Robert Mondavi

Great-nephew to Inglenook's founder Gustave Niebaum, John Daniel, Jr. played a key role in a small, dynamic group of vintners who rebuilt the fine winemaking practices of Napa Valley and California following the repeal of Prohibition in 1933. At 26 years old, Daniel became owner and Managing Director in 1936. Robert Mondavi was his protégée and shared the vision that Napa Valley could produce wines second to none. He had an intense passion for Inglenook’s history and potential and for the wines of Napa Valley and California.

(L-R) Robert Mondavi, Charles Forni, Madame Depins, John Daniel, Jr. and Al Hunsinger

He was extensively involved in the foundation and leadership of the Wine Institute of California and the Napa Valley Vintners as well as the State Wine Advisory Board. Daniel was the first to put Napa Valley as an appellation on wine, and pioneered vintage-dating and varietal labeling. He produced the first Rose in California following Prohibition. The back labels for his wines were written to be information, friendly and fun. He created small bottlings of ‘cask’ Cabernets.

While restoring Inglenook's fame, Daniel made what many considered to be some of the world's best Cabernet Sauvignons from the mid 1930s to the 1960s, creating a legacy of excellence for Cabernet 1933 Inglenook Cabernet Sauvignon Sauvignons for future generations of The first vintage produced after the repeal of Prohibition California winemakers. WINEMAKER PHILIPPE MELKA

One of the most highly respected and successful of the French-born, Bordeaux- educated oenologists working in California, Melka has been with Lail Vineyards since its first vintage.

“My recent naming as one of the top 9 wine consultants in the world by Robert Parker has been truly humbling, and a terrific honor. But my pursuit of excellence in this field I’m so passionate about has only just begun.” - Philippe Melka

Philippe has been making wines for Lail Vineyards since 1995. He is considered by the Lails as both a genius and a member of the family…

At Lail, the philosophy is that brilliant wines originate in the vineyard, but the brilliance is polished importantly by the winemaker at two specific times – the decision of when to pick the grapes and the making of the blend.

With the work of our outstanding farming team at Silverado Vineyard Management and Mother Nature, the magic of the winemaker enables the wines of Lail to sing opera. OUR VINEYARDS “Each new vintage is both a challenge and an inspiration. Every year we focus on the care of our land and our vineyards and to produce wines that are just a little bit better than the year before. Each year we have a new opportunity to bring a touch of magic into the world.”

ROBIN DANIEL LAIL YOUNTVILLE T O T E M E S T A T E VINEYARD Totem Vineyards in Yountville is on the site of the first vineyard planted in 1839 by George Yount. Our family has worked this vineyard for generations since 1946. We are custodians of more than land at Totem, we are caretakers of a piece of history.

The current vineyard was planted in 1988 and grafted to Merlot. In 2006 the vines were t-budded to Sauvignon Blanc and the clay and loam soil vineyard is dry-farmed.

Totem Vineyard in Yountville is on the site of the first vineyard planted in Napa Valley in 1839 by George Yount. Our family has worked this vineyard for generations since 1946. Today, these 3 acres in Yountville produce the fruit for our highly lauded Georgia Sauvignon Blanc. Only 300 cases are produced each year.

HOWELL MOUNTAIN M O L E HILL ESTATE VINEYARD In 1996, The Lail family acquired a special vineyard site high atop Howell Mountain. Mole Hill was named in homage to a wine created by Robin’s father, John Daniel, Jr.

The story goes that when Daniel’s great friend, Louis Martini Sr., made a wine in the 1950s, the irony of him labeling it Mountain Red was not lost on Daniel since Martini’s wine was from a rolling hillside vineyard versus the precipitous mountain vineyards of Europe.

A brilliant man with a celebrated sense of humor and a particular love of puns, Daniel responded with Inglenook Mole Hill Red, whose whimsical label featured a very cute mole with a magnifying glass checking a small pile of dirt. The 3 acre vineyard’s west-facing gentle slope has shallow soils with rocks that rise to the surface like cream in coffee, creating a spartan home for the vines and generating a stunning concentration of flavors in the grapes.

Each year, we harvest Mole Hill multiple times to capture the unique flavors expressed in each part of the vineyard. OUR PORTFOLIO B L U E P R I N T W I N E S

Blueprint wines are Lail Vineyards modern interpretation of Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon, capturing the abundant sunshine of Napa Valley and transforming it into intensely flavorful wines meant for early release and enjoyment in a delicious crowd- pleasing style. BLUEPRINT SAUVIGNON BLANC

100% SAUVIGNON BLANC

CROCKER VINEYARD

( S T . HELENA ) FARELLA VINEYARD ( COOMBSVILLE ) REWA VINEYARD ( COOMBSVILLE )

FERMENTED IN FRENCH OAK; AGED IN STAINLESS STEE L

~ 1 0 0 0 CASES PRODUCED BLUEPRINT CABERNET SAUVIGNON

C A B E R N E T SAUVIGNON PETIT VERDOT

MOLE HILL ESTATE VINEYARD ( HOWELL MOUNTAIN ) VINE HILL RANCH VINEYARD (OAKVILLE ) HEIMARK VINEYARD ( CALISTOGA ) EVANS VINEYARD ( COOMBSVILLE ) LAMBERT VINEYARD ( COOMBSVILLE ) S A N SAVINO VINEYARD (YOUNTVILLE )

~ 1 8 M O N T H S I N F RENC H OAK ; ~40% N E W

~ 1 5 0 0 CASES PRODUCED

F L A G S H I P W I N E S

Georgia Sauvignon Blanc J. Daniel Cuvée Cabernet Mole Hill Cabernet represents the first family Sauvignon is named after Sauvignon comes from our member of our sixth Robin’s father, our Howell Mountain estate generation and uniquely ancestor to the Lail legacy. vineyard and is made only expresses a Graves-like from exceptional vintages. style.

GEORGIA SAUVIGNON BLANC

100% SAUVIGNON BLANC

T O T E M E S T A T E V I N E Y A R D ( YOUNTVILLE )

~ 18 MONTHS IN 100% NEW FRENCH OAK

~300 CASES PRODUCED “For my palate, Lail’s Georgia is California’s most complex and multi- dimensional Sauvignon Blanc.” – ROBERT PARKER, JR. J . D A N I E L CUV É E CABERNET SAUVIGNON

100% CABERNET SAUVIGNON

M O L E HILL ESTATE VINEYARD ( HOWELL MOUNTAIN )

VINE HILL RANCH VINEYARD (OAKVILLE )

HEIMARK VINEYARD ( CALISTOGA)

~ 18 MONTHS IN FRENCH OAK B A R R E L S , ~80% N E W

~ 800 CASED PRODUCED “The 2012 J.Daniel Cuvée Cabernet Sauvignon is …absolutely perfect.” 100 Points

– ROBERT PARKER, JR. WINE ADVOCATE , OCTOBER 2014 MOLE HILL CABERNET SAUVIGNON

100% CABERNET SAUVIGNON

MOLE HILL ESTATE VINEYARD ( HOWELL MOUNTAIN )

~ 18 MONTHS IN FRENCH OAK B A R R E L S , 100% N E W

~ 125 CASES PRODUCED

The Mole Hill Cabernet Sauvignon is a rare wine, made only in exciting vintage years. The mole trail on the label is a unique design each release.

“This is Howell Mountain at it’s finest!” - Philippe Melka, Winemaker With all the beautiful grapes at Mole Hill, somebody has to guard them! The 21st Century incarnation of the unending quest for perfection since 1879.

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