Winemaker Notes
Deep, dark shiny oil with touches of magenta and mashed strawberry. Beautiful flowery nose of rose petals, lavender and pencil shaving with black pepper, blackberry and blueberry, lingering on roast beef and paprika. Dense entrance evolving on a layered mid-palate, lingering on fresh granular tannins with touches of dark fruit and violet.
Professional Ratings
-
Decanter
Winemaker Jean Hoefliger sources grapes from the Denali Vineyard and V Madrone in St Helena, Furtado and Sleeping Lady in Yountville, and Ballard Vineyards on Spring Mountain. Restrained on the nose at first, with subtle dark fruits coated in fine graham cracker crumb, sweet cedar and chocolate. But the wine builds on the palate revealing dried strawberry, ripe boysenberry and traces of blue fruit, herbs and mineral flourishes, enrobed in palate-etching tannins. A tremendous wine.
-
Jeb Dunnuck
A perfumed nose of blackberries, dark cherries, earth, licorice, wild flowers and spice box. Medium-to full-bodied with firm, fine tannins and fresh acidity. Balanced and layered with classic cabernet sauvignon character. Flavorful, fresh finish. Drink from 2023.
-
James Suckling
A perfumed nose of blackberries, dark cherries, earth, licorice, wild flowers and spice box. Medium-to full-bodied with firm, fine tannins and fresh acidity. Balanced and layered with classic cabernet sauvignon character. Flavorful, fresh finish. Drink from 2023.d
-
Wine Spectator
Shows steeped plum and blackberry fruit that is dark and brooding in profile, while bittersweet cocoa, warm cast iron and tobacco notes bear down on the finish. This has energy, but you need to like that big, dense style to dig this.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon gives up notes of minted blackberries, cassis and chocolate box with a waft of tobacco. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is chock-full of bright, black fruit flavors with a solid foundation of fine-grained tannins, finishing long and juicy.
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.