Raymond Generations Cabernet Sauvignon 2016

Professional Ratings

• 98 Jeb Dunnuck
  One of the true superstars in the portfolio is the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon District Collection Generations, which is even better than the 2015. Brought up in just over half new barrels, it has an incredible bouquet of crème de cassis and blackberry fruits intermixed with lots of spice, fruitcake, and earthy minerality. Possessing full-bodied richness, a sensational sense of opulence with no weight, ripe tannins, and a great, great finish, hats off to winemaker Stephanie Putnam for another brilliant Cabernet Sauvignon that can be drunk today with incredible pleasure or cellared for 20-25 years.
• 95 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
  The deep garnet-purple colored 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Generations (aged for 20 months in 54% new French oak) is scented of licorice, crème de cassis and mocha with underlying hints of smoked meats, tapenade, dried lavender and cardamom. Big, rich and concentrated and with firm, fine-grained tannins, it has lovely harmony and length, with minerals coming through on the finish.
• 93 Wine Spectator
  A big, broad style, with a swath of baker's chocolate laid over a core of steeped black currant and blackberry fruit. The finish is paved with tar, licorice root and loam elements, while the fruit keeps up, ending with a roasted alder detail. Best from 2022 through 2032.
• 92 James Suckling
  Violets and ripe blueberries on the nose make for an attractive cabernet that delivers a very plush and fleshy feel on the palate with abundant ripe plums and blackberries. Drink or hold.
• 92 Wine & Spirits
  An herbal cabernet in a lean, elegant claret style, this has clean black fruit and juicy-crunchy flavors of cloud-ear mushrooms to point up its umami side. While the structure feels cool and light, the tannins have a tough, youthful grip, setting the stage for a long evolution in bottle. (
• 91 Wine Enthusiast

  Robust in tobacco, black pepper and toasted oak, this robustly ripe wine is thick in plum and dark cherry, with a brooding quality to the fruit. Supple tannins provide structure and softness, adding length to the rich, layered finish.