Gordon Getty seems to me the quintessential dilettante, though I hasten to add the I use that term in its original, 18th century meaning as one deserving of admiration as a knowledgeable and discriminating connoisseur, not its more recent derivation as a mere dabbler.

Its roots are the Latin delectare, to delight in something, particularly an area of study like the arts, so to refer to someone as a dilettante was to compliment a man on his refined sensibilities.

I am of course biased here though because one of those arts so assiduously pursued by Getty is the making and enjoyment of fine wine.

An heir to the Getty oil fortune he has spent his time in the pursuit of some of life’s more civilized pleasures. An opera buff, he has composed and performed his own work, and as a philanthropist he’s a major supporter of classical music organizations. He is also a Shakespeare fan and wine lover with these two enthusiasm coming together in the PlumpJack investment group, the owners of, among other properties, the extremely successful PlumpJack Winery, named after Shakespeare’s famous buffoon, that knight in decidedly tarnished armor, Jack Falstaff.

Gordon Enjoys Cade So Much He Steals Nick's Glass

The group’s latest viniferous venture is the stunning new Cade Winery located high on Howell Mountain in Napa Valley. They released their first wine, a Sauvignon Blanc two years ago, and it was a delight. Now comes their piece de la resistance, their star turn, the Cade Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 ($68).

A deep, opaque, wine it shows intriguing hints of earth and spice on the nose. The initial rich, dark fruit flavors – blackberrys and plums perhaps – on the front of the palate quickly give way to a lingering, dry finish tinged with hints of dark mysteries that will evolve with time for this is surely a wine for the decades.

After two hours of decanting the Cade had softened, and somewhat surprisingly begun to show red fruit flavors –think raspberries and strawberries — perhaps because of its extreme youth.

This superb wine has a dazzling future before it, and rather like Shakespeare, Cade offers both intellectual and visceral pleasures, pleasures that will only grow with time and the application of patient attention.

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The wine is available from the winery.