Winemaker Notes
The 2019 Alpha Omega Proprietary Red offers a nose that is combination of black to red fruit, including wild cherries and blackberries, Chinese five spice, cedar, hint of menthol. On the palate the wine is full bodied and concentrated with a sensational fruit core, graham cracker, worn leather, and sweet tobacco.
Blend: 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 21% Malbec, 8% Petit Verdot, 4% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A solid red with blackberry, currant and dark-chocolate aromas and flavors. Medium to full body, firm tannins and a fresh finish. Shows firmness and focus. 40% cabernet sauvignon, 27% merlot, 21% malbec, 8% petit verdot and 4% cabernet franc.
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Jeb Dunnuck
A blend of 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 21% Malbec, and the rest Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, mostly from the Atlas Peak region, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Proprietary Red Wine is another dense, concentrated wine with plenty of darker, plummy, blue fruits, notes of tobacco and graphite, medium to full body, and ripe tannins. It drops off on the finish, which kept the score down, but it's certainly a beautiful, balanced wine from this lineup.
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Vinous
The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Proprietary Red Wine is a blend of 44.9% Merlot, 27.1% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19.1% Malbec, 6.1% Petit Verdot and 2.8% Cabernet Franc. It offers pretty floral and spice accents along with red cherry jam, raspberry and mocha flavors. There is plenty of persistency, and yet the 2019 feels just a bit compact.
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Wine Enthusiast
This blends 45% Merlot with 27% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Malbec, 6% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc, aging the whole in French oak, barely new, for 18 moths. Thick and rich in dark fruit, spiced oak and vanilla bean, it offers powerful ripeness and concentration.
Undoubtedly proving its merit over and over, Napa Valley is a now a leading force in the world of prestigious red wine regions. Though Cabernet Sauvignon dominates Napa Valley, other red varieties certainly thrive here. Important but often overlooked include Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties well-regarded on their own as well as for their blending capacities. Very old vine Zinfandel represents an important historical stronghold for the region and Pinot noir is produced in the cooler southern parts, close to the San Pablo Bay.
Perfectly situated running north to south, the valley acts as a corridor, pulling cool, moist air up from the San Pablo Bay in the evenings during the hot days of the growing season, which leads to even and slow grape ripening. Furthermore the valley claims over 100 soil variations including layers of volcanic, gravel, sand and silt—a combination excellent for world-class red wine production.