"Blancaneau" is a Rhone-style white wine released in 1999 as a partner to Inglenook's flagship wine "Rubicon". It is a blend of Roussanne, Marsanne and Viognier grapes grown in the company's own vineyards. The vineyard is a small vineyard of about 2.6 hectares for white wine, located in the shade at the foot of Mount St. John on the property, and the production volume is also very small.
These three grape varieties are harvested from vines that are over 10 years old, and they express the age of the vines well, with their aromas, rich textures, and complex flavors. Marsanne and Roussanne provide minerality, weight, and body, while Viognier gives a concentrated bouquet of tropical fruits and spices. Inglenook Vineyards was founded in 1879 by Gustav Niebaum. A Finnish man, Gustav used his enormous wealth to bring European grapevines to Napa. Then, under the direction of the legendary John Daniel, they spent decades creating wines that would go on to receive the highest acclaim. However, by the time Francis Coppola and his wife Eleanor purchased part of the property in 1975, the Inglenook name had been sold and the winery had collapsed. Over the course of 20 years, the Coppolas gradually repurchased the vineyards that had been sold, invested in winemaking equipment, and renovated the historic Inglenook chateau. Inglenook has now been rebuilt into the same winery as it was in the past, and has been revived as a great American winery. In April 2011, Francis Ford Coppola acquired the trademark rights to the iconic Napa winery "Inglenook" from The Wine Group. Since then, Rubicon Estate, a famous winery in Napa Valley, has been reborn as the historic name "Inglenook". From the same year, winemaker Philippe Bascaules, who has had a career of more than 20 years under the late Paul Pontallier, director of Chateau Margaux, one of the first-growth chateaux in Bordeaux, France, has been in charge of winemaking at Inglenook. Bascaules has a degree in agriculture and majored in winemaking at a graduate school in Montpellier. And from March 2017, Philippe Bascaules will serve as both Managing Director of Chateau Margaux and Director of Winemaking at Inglenook. The name of Inglenook's flagship proprietary wine, "Rubicon", will continue, and Bascaules, who has been making wine in the old world style, will lead a winemaking team dedicated to this great new world wine "Rubicon". Bascaules will continue to work in contact with Stephane Durnoncourt, a famous winemaking consultant in Pomerol. In addition to Cabernet Sauvignon, which is now known as the second wine, "I882" is being produced as a new third wine. In addition, Sauvignon Blanc, which was recently planted on the premises, will be added to the lineup from the 2013 vintage, and future developments are expected.