Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 1999 Proprietary Red (a 500-case blend of 60% Cabernet Franc and 40% Merlot) offers a dense ruby/purple color as well as a gorgeous Bordeaux-like bouquet of mocha, menthol, scorched earth, black cherries, currants, smoke, and toasty oak. The wine is expressive and full-bodied, with stunning concentration yet admirable delineation. Its moderately high tannin in the finish suggests considerable patience is warranted. Anticipated maturity: 2006-2025.
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Wine Spectator
A touch earthy and leathery, giving it a sense of dryness, with leather-mineral-scented tannins, this is a dark, rich, high-extract, muscular style that needs time to reveal its depth and complexity, with chewy currant, herb, anise, mineral and earth flavors. Will benefit from short- to mid-term cellaring. Cabernet Franc and Merlot.
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.