WINERY PROFILES

Cinquain Cellars » Profile

Cinquain Cellars is one of Paso's newest wineries. We invite you to come taste the poetry created from 100% estate-grown Bordeaux, Rhone and Port varieties. Located just minutes off Hwy 46 East, contact us to reserve your free, private tasting in the barrel room and among the vines and see why Robert Parker, Jr. calls our 2006 Syrah, "delicious and sexy" and why the 2006 Reserve Meritage was awarded 94 points, a Gold Medal, and Best of Class of Region at the California State Fair.

About Us

2006 marks the first vintage of Cinquain Cellars, one of the newest wineries in the Paso Robles appellation. Cinquain Cellars is focused on estate grown reds, including Bordeaux, Rhone, and Port varieties, as well as, sourcing fruit from select vineyards for white varieties. It is run by David and Beth Nagengast, with David tending to the vineyard and winemaking while Beth manages the sales and marketing.

About the Vineyard

The 14-acre Nagengast Estate Vineyard overlooks Hog Canyon and the Estrella River basin and was planted in 2002 with nine varieties. These include the traditional Bordeaux varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot. Also, planted are two clones of Syrah, clones 174 and 877, which produce a Rhone style wine. Lastly, there are three classic Port varieties, Tinta Cao, Touriga Nacional, and Touriga Franca.

About the Wines

All of the red wines are destemmed without crushing, fermented in small lots of 1.5 tons, punched down by hand three times a day, and left on the skins for an average of three weeks. This delicate maceration allows us to slowly extract the color and flavor of the grape, without over extraction of harsh phenolic compounds. The fermented grapes are then gently pressed in a small wooden basket press to draw off only the finest of the fermented juice. This juice is then put into a selected mixture of 225 liter to 500 liter, French, American and Hungarian oak barrels. The wines are left to mature for at least 16 months for appropriate aging. They are racked prior to bottling, and bottled without any fining or filtration.

The flagship wine is the Reserve Meritage, which inspired the name Cinquain Cellars. Because this wine is a beautiful blend of five Bordeaux varieties, it was referred to as pure poetry, a cinquain in a bottle, and so it goes. It is made from 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Malbec, 17% Petit Verdot, 15% Merlot, and 15% Cabernet Franc.

Other 100% estate-grown reds include a varietal Merlot, a varietal Syrah, along with a Cabernet-Syrah blend, and Cabernet Sauvignon dominant blend with Merlot, Malbec, and Cabernet Franc.

The dessert wine is harvested late in the season, fermented slowly and fortified to 19% alcohol to arrest the fermentation at approximately 8% residual sugar. The wine is stored in neutral oak barrels and bottled after 12 months. This produces a rich, dark red, concentrated, fruit forward wine that finishes any meal with an unforgettable treat.

To complement the reds, Chardonnay was sourced from Riverview Vineyard located below the Pinnacles in Monterey County, along with a Sauvignon Blanc from Baja Viento Vineyard in the Arroyo Seco sub-appellation of Monterey.

About the Dream

The owner and winemaker, David Nagengast, graduated from the Fresno State University Enology program in 1985 with the dream of someday having his own vineyard and winery.

In 2000, the search for the perfect site culminated in the purchase of a small hillside property, overlooking Hog Canyon and the Estrella River basin from 1000-ft elevation, in the Northeast area of the Paso Robles Appellation.

In 2002, the 14-acre vineyard was planted with nine varieties.

In 2007, the winery construction was completed.

And now, after 23 years of making wines professionally for a variety of small and medium sized wineries in Santa Cruz Mountains, Santa Clara County, and Oregon, the culmination of this dream is evident with the establishment of Nagengast Estate Vineyard, Cinquain Cellars and the availability of the 2006 vintage.

The couple live in San Miguel with 1 of their 3 teenage sons, and their yellow lab, Cabby, while their oldest sons attend college at UCSD and UCLA. David can be reached at dave@cinquaincellars.com and Beth at beth@cinquaincellars.com.