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BRIEF ENCOUNTERS 18 / the tasting panel / november 2017 John Lithgow, who won an Emmy for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for playing Winston Churchill in The Crown, exhibits fine form as he takes a sip of Sterling Iridium while holding onto his presentation bottle. Bright Star A winning team: The premier 2014 vintage of Sterling Vineyard's Iridium Cabernet Sauvignon and the coveted Emmy, television's highest award. STERLING VINEYARDS IRIDIUM DEBUTS AT THE EMMYS by Richard Carleton Hacker T he 69th Emmy Awards in September provided the perfect stage to premiere Sterling Vineyards' newest star: their limited-release 2014 Iridium ($250), a full-bodied, 100-percent Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Handsomely packaged in a hallmarked silver-necked bottle, the wine feels like it weighs as much as an Emmy statuette. In addition to being poured for attendees of the Governor's Ball afterparty, Iridium—named for a rare platinum-based element often found in meteorites—also served as a take-home gift for celebrities entering the Winner's Circle to have their Emmys engraved. Each was presented with a bottle dramatically encased in a glass tube bearing a personalized magnetic silver plaque. "Sponsoring events like the Emmys is an opportunity for Sterling Vineyards to introduce our wines to a completely dif- ferent audience," says Sterling Vineyards Global Brand Director Tim Irwin, who noted this was the second year Sterling served as the award show's exclusive wine sponsor. "It's a natural fit that portrays the style and sophistication of who we are as one of the most visited wineries in Napa Valley." Two additional Sterling releases—its floral, black-cherried 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon and its crisp 2015 Sauvignon Blanc— were also poured at the black-tie affair, which was catered by Chef Joachim Splichal and Patina Catering. But it was the 2014 Iridium that clearly emerged as the star during its first public appearance. "The inspiration for Iridium was to showcase Sterling Vineyards' best Cabernet vineyards and parcel lots," says Sterling Winemaker Harry Hansen of the wine, which will only be released during exceptional years. "The fruit is the 'best of the best' of seven barrels of the best Cabernet we produce." Aged for 19 months in new French oak with an additional 17 months of bottle aging, Iridium is a muscular wine thick with burnt plums, brambled cherries, and black olives with traces of cedar, chocolate, and tannin-soaked fruit in its long finish. Hansen recommends double decanting Iridium an hour before pouring. Although it can easily be aged for up to 15 years, Governor's Ball attendees proved that evening that the wine is more than ready to make its debut—on or off the red carpet.