Winemaker Notes
This appellation Cabernet is a blend of hillside and valley floor vineyards, showcasing a style that unites the harmony of traditional Bordelaise winemaking techniques with the structure and depth provided by California’s climate.
Blend: 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Petit Verdot, 2% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Aromatic complexity, a velvety texture and deep, dark fruit and oak flavors make this wine compelling, and it has much more to show over time. Its smooth mouthfeel and gently integrated tannins soothe the palate while blackberries, blueberries, espresso and toast notes expand on the sip and linger on the finish.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley, which includes the addition of 7% Petit Verdot and 2% each of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, pours a deep, nearly opaque blackish red hue. Its classic aromas of toasted cedar, black currants, fresh leather, and tobacco leaf are followed by a full-bodied red with good energy and balance throughout. It offers ripe tannins, a fine, soft texture, and ripe black cherry, fresh violets, and tea leaf. It’s a beautifully expressive wine with great drinkability.
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Wine Spectator
On the old-school side, with a nice grippy structure and a swath of warm earth holding down the fort, while the core of red and black currant reduction notes unwind slowly. Packs heavy tobacco and cast iron on the finish. Best from 2025 through 2034.
One of the most prestigious wines of the world capable of great power and grace, Napa Valley Cabernet is a leading force in the world of fine, famous, collectible red wine. Today the Napa Valley and Cabernet Sauvignon are so intrinsically linked that it is difficult to discuss one without the other. But it wasn’t until the 1970s that this marriage came to light; sudden international recognition rained upon Napa with the victory of the Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon in the 1976 Judgement of Paris.
Cabernet Sauvignon undoubtedly dominates Napa Valley today, covering half of the land under vine, commanding the highest prices per ton and earning the most critical acclaim. Cabernet Sauvignon’s structure, acidity, capacity to thrive in multiple environs and ability to express nuances of vintage make it perfect for Napa Valley where incredible soil and geographical diversity are found and the climate is perfect for grape growing. Within the Napa Valley lie many smaller sub-AVAs that express specific characteristics based on situation, slope and soil—as a perfect example, Rutherford’s famous dust or Stags Leap District's tart cherry flavors.