Maybe you have heard the saying," You don't have to be a rocket scientist to make wine," well, Bruce Newlan decided to test that hypothesis. Bruce was a rocket scientist working at Lockheed Sunnyvale when, in 1967, he bought a 10-acre walnut orchard in Yountville; he then tore out the nuts and planted wine grapes. In 1969, at his first harvest, the Cabernet grapes commanded a premium price, and a good chunk of his investment was returned. Pretty smart for a rocket scientist, and after five years of weekend farming, he quit his day job of making rockets, moved full time to Napa, bought more vineyard acres, and soon, demand for his grapes was off to the moon. (See what I did there, rocket scientist, moon?) Customers included Mondavi, Sterling, Silver Oak, Inglenook, and Clos du Val, who used his grapes mostly in their reserve wine programs. So sought after were his grapes that he started his own winery in 1978 in the barn on the first property he purchased. The winery was the 35th winery in Napa Valley post-prohibition and quickly became recognized for its red wines, winning awards both internationally and domestically. The winery has been in constant operation since 1980 and has evolved from Newlan Vineyards & Winery and Koves-Newlan Winery and is now known as Silenus Winery since the 2008 vintage. One thing that has stayed constant is the award-winning red wines being produced by this facility.

In 1992, the vineyards began to show the effects of phylloxera. Robert Mondavi so loved the grapes from this vineyard that, at his own expense, he offered his crew to assess the vineyard and help establish a replanting plan that would include the most appropriate rootstocks for the soils and the best Cabernet Sauvignon clones for the wine. Through 2002, most of the grapes became estate wine, but a portion still went to Mondavi for their reserve wine. Bob Williamson and his family purchased the site in 2008. They did an extensive job of remodeling, updating the landscaping, adding state-of-the-art wine-making equipment, and opening the tasting room for the rebranded Silenus Winery.

Silenus Winery is named in honor of Silenus, the teacher and companion of Dionysus, the God of Wine. Dionysus was an important god, the son of Zeus, the head god of all gods. At Dionysus' birth, Zeus appointed Silenus to teach his young son in the ways of debauchery and enjoy the finer things of life – like drinking wine. Together, they traveled the world, planting grapevines and raising bees for pollination while always enjoying copious amounts of wine. According to legend, Silenus had a serious drinking problem; he consumed so much wine that he couldn't stand and had to be carted around on a donkey. In other words, an early-day rock star. As Silenus mentored his charge Dionysus, God of Wine, Dionysus became the apprentice, or Tyros, to Silenus. Befittingly, on the Tyros label, you have a depiction of Dionysus, looking a little disheveled with a bunch of grapes in one hand and a raised glass of wine in the other.

Located between the towns of Napa and Yountville just West of Highway 29, the winery and vineyards sit snugly in the middle of the Oak Knoll District. The choice of locating in the Oak Knoll District (OKD) was deliberate. The OKD lies at the southern end of the Napa Valley, where the growing season is longer, providing early bud break and a long, leisurely growing season for optimal, balanced ripeness. The cooler nights and slowly rising daytime temperatures create a naturally long hang time for fruit to achieve bright acidity, great texture, fruit-forward aromas, and elegant flavors. The vineyards are blessed with mineral-rich, gravelly soil deposited over millennia by Dry Creek, which borders the northern edge of the vineyards. The close proximity to the San Pablo Bay graces the fruit with warm days and cool nights - the perfect environment for creating world-class wine.  

Silenus farms their vineyard with a carbon-neutral approach, utilizing cover crops planted each year in every other row. These are then tilled into the soil, providing additional nutrients and water-holding retention, and means they use their tractors only 1/2 as much. Native plants also grow near their vineyard, and a number of bluebird houses are on site to help attract birds that will eat pests.

The Cabernet Sauvignon portion of the wine includes 10% from the Silenus Estate Vineyards and another 15% from the Oak Knoll District AVA, 6% from the St. Helena AVA, 10% from Rutherford and 40% from Yountville. The Merlot comes primarily from the Rutherford AVA with 15% and the Oak Knoll District AVA with 7%.

Our Tyros Cabernet Sauvignon has a bright ruby red color with beautiful garnet tones reaching the rim. The nose expresses fresh ripe berries and pomegranate with hints of sweet oak. True to its classic Napa style, the palate is dominated by its fruit forward personality with secondary bright and balanced tones of black cherry, pomegranate and toasty oak. The finish is fresh and smooth with slight lingering hints of oak on its finish.

78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot

The wine was aged for 22 months in 50% new French oak, 10% new American oak, and the rest in neutral barrels.

Juicy and ripe, but on a modest scale, allowing cassis and blackberry notes to hold sway without undue effort over a backdrop of loam, singed vanilla, and tobacco. Drink now through 2030. 2,000 cases made. Wine Spectator 91 pts

This is an enjoyable and approachable Cabernet that is blended with 23% Merlot. Black cherry, cassis, and mocha highlight a soft, supple palate. It has a hint of dried herb on the finish. Wine Enthusiast 90 pts

Silenus Tyros Cabernet 2019

In tasting this wine, we decided this is a wine drinker's wine, which means complex fruit and herbs that are very definable and not cooked together. The color was a deep garnet with aromas of black-blue fruit cassis—Boysenberry with a hint of nutmeg. On the palate, there were noticeable coffee/tobacco notes with more boysenberry, fig, plum, and spice leaning on the side of clove with dark chocolate-covered cherries. Balanced tannins and acids with dried orange peel in the finish. The more we swirled, the more the wine opened to new complexities. It's a great wine to have sitting in front of a fire, and if you're sharing, you might as well just open the second bottle because it is that good. Quantities are limited, and there is no more to be had.

Regular Price: $33.99

*Sale Price is on 6 or more bottles

Wine is packed in a 12-bottle case

*Wine pricing for these wine promotions are held for two weeks after the email offer.

We can hold wines in unpaid reserves for two weeks to allow you time to pick up your wine. If it takes you longer than that to pick up your wines, give us a call, and we can process your wine and move it to paid reserves.

Orders must be done by replying to this email. The reason is that I need to keep control of the inventory in one central spot. Emailing or calling your favorite wine geek at one of our four stores may not get your orders in on time to be counted or processed and this creates a helter-skelter for us to get you the wine. For the same reason, ordering on our online Web Store is linked to our regular price, and this sale price is only offered on the email platform. It is also why it takes me some time to respond due to the deluge of orders that I sometimes get. We haven't reached the efficiency or volume of Amazon yet. Thank you in advance for your patience.

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