Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 1995 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Speciale has a medium garnet color and the alluring desiccation of a fully mature wine, with scents of mushroom powder, struck flint, dried violets, old leather and bouquet garni. The palate offers a supple core of dried black fruit and a flourish of graphite and tobacco, its powdery, softened structure enveloping the palate and calling you back for another sip.
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Wine Spectator
Vibrant and lively, with rich, ripe, lush, savory currant, blackberry, mineral, anise and cedar notes that are all in proportion, giving this wine a tremendous sense of balance, finesse and harmony. It finishes with a long, persistent finish, with lots of detailed flavors and depth.--1995 California Cabernet retrospective. Drink now through 2014. 1,239 cases made.
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.
Perhaps the most historically significant appellation in Sonoma County, the Sonoma Valley is home to both Buena Vista winery, California's oldest commercial winery, and Gundlach Bundschu winery, California's oldest family-run winery.
It is also one of the more geologically and climactically diverse districts. The valley includes and overlaps four distinct Sonoma County sub-appellations, including Carneros, Moon Mountain District, Sonoma Mountain and Bennett Valley. With mountains, benchlands, plains, abundant sunshine and the cooling effects of the nearby Pacific, this appellation can successfully produce a wide range of grape varieties. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Gewürztraminer, and most notably, Zinfandel all thrive here. Ancient Zinfandel vines over 100 years old produce small crops of concentrated, spicy fruit, which in turn make some of the Valley's most unique wines. These can also be made as “field blends” (wines made from a mix of grape varieties grown in the same vineyard) along with Petite Sirah, Carignan and Alicante Bouschet.