Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A perfumed and inviting nose of blackberries, blackcurrants and gravel. Medium-to full-bodied and so fresh and present on the palate. Well-structured tannins. There’s purity to the expression of the ripe red and black fruit with bright minerality and great depth.
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Vinous
The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Clajeux Vineyard is a powerful, savory wine that expresses all of the character of this Chalk Hill site. Dark cherry, plum, gravel, scorched earth, leather and a good bit of whole cluster savoriness from the 30% stems give the aromatics tons of presence to play off the wine’s mid-weight structure. This is a fabulous vintage for the Clajeux.
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.
A Sonoma sub-appellation whose boundaries cover the northeastern corner of the Russian River Valley AVA, the Chalk Hill growing area is named after its unique chalky and white, volcanic ash soils. This terrain has proven successful with white varieties, namely Chardonnay and Sauvignon blanc.