Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
An extraordinary wine, dense, rich and earthy, with broad, plush tannins and tiers of complex currant, earth, cedar, black cherry, mineral and anise flavors. Keeps a tight focus on the long, rich, detailed aftertaste.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
1997 was pretty much a textbook great vintage for Napa Cabernet with good yields. Made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon and aged for 22 months in 100% new oak (55% French and 45% American), the 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve Georges de Latour gives a deep garnet-brick color and quite a meaty nose with notions of chargrill and beef drippings over a core of warm cassis, blackberry pie and candied violets plus wafts of Chinese five spice and dried Provence herbs. Medium to full-bodied with 13.8% alcohol, it has a firm, chewy texture and just enough freshness, delivering a great concentration of savory fruit, finishing long and earthy. In a maturity sweet-spot at the moment, now is a good time to drink this vintage, but there’s certainly no rush.
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Wine Enthusiast
A profoundly deep nose of red and black fruit, with cedar, ginger and nutmeg. The sense of balance and grace is sublime, as layers of cassis, plum and cinnamon keep unfolding. The chewy finish is lengthy and elegant, and it should be held for no less than five years. This bottling honors its pedigree as California’s first classic Cabernet.
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.