St. Francis Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2013
-
Robert
Parker -
Wine &
Spirits
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Excellent with blue cheese, wild mushrooms and ribeye steak.
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Alexander Valley also spent 20 months in French oak prior to being bottled. One of the most opaque purple-colored wines of the entire line-up, the wine displays notes of blackberry, cassis, chocolate and espresso roast, thrilling levels of concentration, a full-bodied mouthfeel, and incredible richness and length. It is another blockbuster from St. Francis that needs 4-5 years of cellaring and should drink well for 30 or more years.
-
Wine & Spirits
Silky and delicate, this wine’s dill and red raspberry flavors fill a light and airy structure. The tannins are firm, with some tobacco burn to them, but overall the wine feels brisk and fresh, an easy-drinking, approachable cabernet.
Other Vintages
2019-
Tasting
Panel -
Wine
Enthusiast
-
Wine &
Spirits
-
Tasting
Panel
- Decanter
-
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator
-
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Wine &
Spirits -
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Enthusiast
-
Wine
Enthusiast -
Robert
Parker
-
Robert
Parker
-
Wine
Spectator
-
Wine
Spectator
For more than four decades, the wines of St. Francis Winery & Vineyards have reflected the finest mountain and valley vineyards in Sonoma County. Our founder, Joe Martin, fell in love with Sonoma Valley and established St. Francis Vineyard in 1971, planting 22 acres of Chardonnay and the first 60 acres of Merlot in Sonoma Valley. After achieving great success as a grower, Joe opened his own winery in 1979 with his business partner Lloyd Canton.
Today, a new generation of winemakers, Katie Madigan and Chris Louton, continues our long tradition of luscious, elegant, fruit-driven wines from Sonoma County grapes. We farm more than 400 acres of Certified Sustainable estate vineyards in Sonoma Valley and Russian River Valley, each with varying compositions of loam, clay and volcanic soils. We also nurture long-term relationships with top Sonoma County grape growers, giving the Winery access to some of the region's most coveted old vines Zinfandel and other varietals from acclaimed vineyards.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
Nearly a northern extension of Napa Valley, Alexander Valley starts just north of the small, Knights Valley, and is just a few minutes drive from the Napa town of Calistoga. It is Sonoma County’s hottest AVA. But the Russian River, which runs through the valley, creates cooler pockets and its soft, alluvial soil is ideal for grape growing, especially Cabernet Sauvignon. In fact, some believe that Alexander Valley Cabernets truly rival the best from Napa Valley and many of the heavy-hitter producers have largely invested here.
In addition to Cabernet Sauvignon, which makes up over 50% of plantings, Merlot and old vine Zinfandel thrive here. Ample, fleshy Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc dominate white wine production. Some old-vine plantings of Grenache have also been discovered and more recent experiments with Sangiovese and Barbera show great promise.