winemaker's notes:
Number 12 on Wine Spectators Top 100 Wines of 2002! The 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve is selected from their finest Napa Valley vineyards, sites that yield complex, long-lived wines. Each of these exceptional vineyards has a distinct personality – a combination of specific site, mesoclimate, soils, clonal selections and cultivation techniques -- that contributes layers upon layers of flavors to the wine. Opulent dark fruit notes of cassis, black cherry and berry reflect grapes grown on the deep soils of the Oakville bench. Nuances of spice, minerals, licorice and violet weave through the highly extracted, velvety flavors. We handcrafted the wine with a long maceration, 17 months of aging in new French chateau barrels, gentle barrel-to-barrel racking, and bottling without filtration.
We selected 82% of the blend from the Oakville AVA (American Viticultural Area), with 68% harvested from the historic To Kalon Vineyard. This vineyard has been continually planted to grapes for over 130 years, and for more than 50 years it has been the backbone of Robert Mondavi's finest Cabernet Sauvignon wines. The Oakville AVA grapes are planted on an alluvial bench where low-fertility, well-drained soils allow deep rooting and the development of complex flavors in the grapes. To enhance the ripe berry character of the wine, and complement the Oakville AVA fruit, we harvested 11% from the Stags Leap District AVA and 7% from the Carneros AVA. Grape Sourcing: Napa Valley
85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 2% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot and 1% Malbec