Winemaker Notes
Blend: 86% Cabernet Franc, 14% Merlot
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The Cabernet Franc-dominated blend is the 2016 Cabernet Franc Gustaf (there’s 14% Merlot), which spent 22 months in new and used French oak. It has a spectacular nose of black, black fruits, forest floor, violets, and graphite, with more incense and spicy oak developing with time in the glass. It's another pure, elegant yet beautifully concentrated wine from this estate that will benefit from short-term cellaring and cruise for 10-15 years.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Cabernet Franc Gustaf is blended of 86% Cabernet Franc and 14% Merlot. Deep purple-black in color, it has a pronounced tar and espresso-scented nose over notions of crushed red and black currants, kirsch and black raspberries with touches of pencil shavings and wilted roses. Medium to full-bodied, the palate reveals a myriad of red and black fruit layers with a chewy frame and long perfumed finish.
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Wine Enthusiast
This expertly blends 87% Cabernet Franc with 13% Merlot. The combination is unbeatable, characterized by graphite, cedar and a touch of reduction. Leathery texture that softens on the midpalate is robustly layered in blueberry and cinnamon. Editors’ Choice
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.