Winter Cabernet Sauvignon 2005
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Robert
Parker
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon may be even better than the 2004. A striking, inky/ruby/purple color offers up notes of black currants, licorice, graphite, forest floor, and spice box. Flawlessly constructed with sweet tannin, good acidity, and superb purity, this is a tour de force in winemaking. Possessing both elegance and authoritative flavors, it should drink effortlessly for two decades.
Rating: 95+
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2007-
Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker
Mike Hirby’s career in wine began as a sommelier in Colorado, Springs, CO, at the award-winning restaurant Primitivo. He was Assistant Winemaker at Behrens & Hitchcock Winery from 2000-2002 and left to make wine for Relic and other Napa Valley wineries including Realm Cellars, Rockledge Vineyards, and Sherwin Family Vineyards. Known as one of the Napa Valley winemaking "young guns," Mike Hirby became the principal winemaker for Winter in 2008.
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.