Winemaker Notes
The aromatics of this wine are expressive and brooding, with saturated brambly fruit aromas, seasoned with savory herbs of sage and bay leaf, and traces of mint and forest floor. There is an earthy clay component with notes of hoisin, baking spices and black tea. In the mouth, the wine comes alive with great depth and ample tannins coating the palate, finishing with a lingering minerality of wet stone.
Blend: 96% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
A beauty, with lush, velvety and seductive waves of creamed plum, blackberry reduction and warmed fig compote notes, seamlessly inlaid with singed alder, loam and humus details. Shows a flicker of menthol at the very end as everything melds together. A big wine, without any of the telltale hiccups of the vintage.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon sashays out of the glass with nonchalant notions of chocolate-covered cherries, mulberries, warm plums and boysenberries with hints of lavender, underbrush and fragrant soil plus a waft of cedar chest. Medium to full-bodied, the palate reveals wonderful vitality with loads of perfumed black fruit and a sturdy, grainy frame, finishing with a little spiciness coming through.
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.