Winemaker Notes
The 2023 vintage was nothing short of exceptional. Ideal weather and a long, steady ripening period delivered fruit in impeccable balance. A replenishing winter and spring set the stage for healthy vines. Throughout the summer, mild and steady temperatures supported slow ripening and superb phenolic development. Harvest began in late September and concluded in mid-October, resulting in fruit with rich color, concentrated flavor, and excellent structural balance.
Professional Ratings
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Tasting Panel
This wine is built to last, with tannins that are svelte and architecturally sound Graphite and black tea add grip and verve, gaining depth and flavor with each sip.
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Jeb Dunnuck
All from Oakville fruit, the 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon Branding Iron sports a deep plum hue as well as a gorgeous perfume of cassis, darker currants, graphite, iron, and spicy wood. It's medium to full-bodied, has a pure, seamless mouthfeel, ripe tannins, and a great finish. It shows the purity, structure, and depth, as well as the finesse, of this great vintage. Give bottles 2-4 years if you can and drink over the following two decades. Drink 2027-2045.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
From a site in western Oakville, the 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon Branding Iron features cool, gently herbal aromas highlighting cassis and black cherries. It's medium- to full-bodied, firmly built and rather restrained, with a tight, tannic finish that leaves behind a cloud of dust. There is good underlying fruit, but this wine seems to require some cellaring.
Rating: 93+
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.
Home to some of the most sought-after Cabernet Sauvignon in America, Napa Valley’s Oakville district stretches across the center of Napa's valley floor and foothills between the Vaca and Mayacamas Mountains. This AVA is home to the legendary To Kalon Vineyard and Martha's Vineyard, as well as many powerhouse wineries including Screaming Eagle, Silver Oak, Robert Mondavi, Opus One, Far Niente and Groth.
The climate is generally warm and agreeable, resulting in year after year of favorable vintages. Summer days see a gentle tug of war between warmer inland air and the cool air coming in from the San Pablo Bay, creating an ideal environment to grow red varieties. Oakville's diverse soils, namely ancient sea bedrock, clay and gravel, are well-drained, and perfect for high-caliber viticulture.
Cabernet here is often bottled varietally but is also popular in Bordeaux Blends. Oakville wines are known for their silky, sensual textures, structured tannins, dark and brooding fruit and lovely aromatics. These age-worthy and prestigious wines are favored by collectors throughout the world.