Delgadillo Cellars
Napa Valley AVA
High-end Cabernet Sauvignon from the family’s small vineyard
Founded in 2001 by father-son team Ignacio Delgadillo Sr. and Jr., Delgadillo Cellars crafts high end Cabernet Sauvignon from the family’s small estate vineyard in northwestern Napa Valley. What makes the Delgadillo Cabernets different is their degree of aging prior to release. All of the Delgadillo wines spend a minimum of three years in oak barrels and another three years in bottle before they are made available to the public. When the father-son team released their first 245 cases of Cabernet Sauvignon in 2009, it had been in the cellar for nearly a decade!
“Personally, we like old wines,” son Ignacio has explained. He and his father realized that while consumers do have a lot of choices when it comes to buying wine, there are far fewer options for older wines. Delgadillo Cellars fills this niche, offering beautifully aged wines that are tasting their best upon release. Plus, their wines are priced strategically at the same level as new releases.
Born in Jalisco, Mexico, Ignacio Sr. came to the United States at the age of 17 and found work in the tomato fields near Sacramento, California. After a few years, Ignacio started in the wine industry in 1975 at Freemark Abbey (an historic Napa Valley winery known worldwide for its prestigious aged Cabernets). Ignacio Sr. spent over twenty years working at Freemark Abbey, moving his way up from the vineyards to the cellar, and eventually becoming cellar master where he oversaw the winery’s total wine production. His son, Ignacio Jr., grew up in Rutherford and from an early age learned the art of viticulture and winemaking from his father.
In 2009, the Delgadillos had an opportunity to purchase a small vineyard along Mill Creek in Napa Valley. The Cabernet vines here were planted between 1971 and 1976 and yield fruit that is concentrated, complex, and elegant. Delgadillo Cellars was born. Ignacio Delgadillo Sr. serves as the winemaker while Ignacio Delgadillo, Jr. runs the day-to-day operations. They are both passionately involved in every step, from nurturing the vines to bottling the finished wine.
