Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
A big, juicy red with lots to love, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon offers up both red and black fruits interwoven with spicy oak, minty herbs, and sandalwood-like aromas and flavors. It's nicely balanced, has soft, fine tannins, and a great finish. It's perfect for drinking over the coming 7-8 years, if not a decade or more. It's a classic, satisfying Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.
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Wine Spectator
Rich and well-fruited, with dark plum and black currant compote flavors that drive along slowly, inlaid liberally with cocoa and roasted cedar notes, plus a hint of tobacco. Held back by a touch of austerity through the finish, which is atypical for this fruit-driven vintage. Best from 2025 through 2035. 3,000 cases made.
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.