The Mercury Rising Story: The Evolution of a Proprietary Blend
If necessity is the mother of invention, then it can also be the genesis of a wine. In 1995, our winemakers were wondering what to do with a few barrels of wine that were not quite good enough to be included in the release of our 1993 Santa Cruz Mountains Estate Cabernet Sauvignon. Applying an approach used by venerable Bordeaux chateaux, they conceived a second-tier bottling that was eventually named “Mercury Rising” in order to maintain the high standards of our flagship cabernet and make the most of the declassified wine.
The wine was called “Xcellence” from vintages 1993 through 1996, a moniker derived from a fabled elf that roamed the Cinnabar cellars and simply signed his name “X”. He was somewhat of a curmudgeon who was believed to have once lived in a 14th Century French chateau.
With a Santa Cruz Mountains Appellation, the 1993 Xcellence was 100% cabernet sauvignon. Vintage 1994 included 5% merlot while its successor offered 5% merlot and 3% cabernet franc.
The 1996 California Xcellence saw the addition of petit verdot while the wine’s increasing popularity warranted the sourcing of fruit from other notable wine regions.
Xcellence was renamed “Mercury Rising” with the release of vintage 1997 to acknowledge founder Tom Mudd’s penchant for Medieval science and his belief that winemaking was a form of modern alchemy.
Rain played a major role in 1998 and 2000 as all of the estate fruit went into Mercury Rising and Cinnabar did not bottle a Santa Cruz Mountains Cabernet Sauvignon.
Today, Mercury Rising continues to grow in popularity, and often surpasses expensive red blends in international competitions.
“Mercury Rising is not a formulaic blend with a predetermined flavor profile,” said Winemaker George Troquato.
On the contrary, Mercury Rising is created in a manner that resembles free artistic expression. “Beginning with a blank canvas, we establish a foundation of cabernet sauvignon, then layer other varietals to add color, depth, spice and balance,” said George. “The approach has changed little over the years.”
What has changed?
Once a single-vineyard, single varietal wine, Mercury Rising now includes four grape varieties from multiple appellations. “With higher tannins and acids as well as components of earth and cedar, the early wines were clearly from the Santa Cruz Mountains,” said George, “while recent vintages show more of a New World style with riper fruit, softer tannins and better balance.”
After years of silence, it appears that X has returned from parts unknown because a note was recently left on a barrel of malbec with the following inscription: “This wine is yum, gotta run — X”.
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