Winemaker Notes
Blend: 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon is a blend of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot and 6% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-purple in color, it charges out of the gate with loads of blueberry preserves and stewed black plums notes on the nose with faint suggestions of redcurrant jelly and rose hip tea plus a waft of wild sage. Full-bodied and jam-packed with ripe black and blue fruit, it has a soft texture and perfumed finish.
Barrel Sample: 92-94 -
James Suckling
Perfumed cabernet with aromas of blackcurrants, blackberries, raspberries, thyme, violets, crushed stones and cloves. Full-bodied with firm, grainy tannins. Structured and concentrated. Better after 2023.
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Tasting Panel
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Jeb Dunnuck
Made with the goal of great Napa Cabernet at $50 bucks, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley succeeds admirably, offering gorgeous cassis, violet, and chocolaty aromatics as well as medium to full-bodied richness, a balanced, layered mouthfeel, and silky tannins. It competes with wines at three times the cost. The blend is 88% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% each of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, aged 20 months in 75% new barrels.
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.