Winemaker Notes
Blend: 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Oso Malo is 94% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Merlot coming largely from Atlas Peak. Attractive blueberry and blackberry fruit in the aromatics and forest floor waft up from this dark ruby/purple wine. A juicy, lush style with elegance, but also power and intensity. The tannins are well-integrated and unobtrusive, the oak pushed way to the background, the fruit dominant and delicious. This is a nicely layered, medium to full-bodied style that is drinking beautifully now and should continue to evolve gracefully for another 10-15 years.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
Just northeast of Napa city, Atlas Peak boasts some of Napa Valley’s highest elevation vineyards. Here the intense sunlight coupled with cool, nighttime temperatures produce grapes that are perfectly ripe, balanced and concentrated. The appellation is rich in volcanic soils and excels in the production of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.