Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
I loved the 2017 St. Eden. This Oakville beauty boasts a deep purple hue as well as incredible minerality in its blue fruits, cassis, violets, and tobacco-laced aromas and flavors. Full-bodied, ripe, tannic, and concentrated, it has everything you could want in a Napa Valley Cabernet. Give bottles 2-4 years in the cellar and enjoy over the following 20 years or so.
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James Suckling
Currants, blackberries and flowers on the nose. Solid core of fruit and tannins. Beautiful, ripe fruit. The freshness and brightness are wonderful here. Compact tannins.
Range: 96-97 -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
St. Eden comes from a red, rocky, iron-rich vineyard site located just north of the Oakville Crossroad in the Vaca Mountains. Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2017 St. Eden is a little broody, opening out with much coaxing to notes of crushed black cherries, cassis and tilled soil with hints of red currants, fruitcake and dusty soil. The opulent, full-bodied, soft-textured palate delivers bags of spicy black fruit preserves flavors, backed-up by loads of freshness, finishing long and exotic.
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Wine Spectator
This isn't shy with its fruit, showing waves of steeped fig, warmed blackberry reduction and crushed plum, though it all stays focused rather being overtly showy, as the substantial but fine-grained grip provides the ideal matrix to give additional bay leaf, warm earth, iron and tobacco notes room to emerge. A deft display of power and range.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
Home to some of the most sought-after Cabernet Sauvignon in America, Napa Valley’s Oakville district stretches across the center of Napa's valley floor and foothills between the Vaca and Mayacamas Mountains. This AVA is home to the legendary To Kalon Vineyard and Martha's Vineyard, as well as many powerhouse wineries including Screaming Eagle, Silver Oak, Robert Mondavi, Opus One, Far Niente and Groth.
The climate is generally warm and agreeable, resulting in year after year of favorable vintages. Summer days see a gentle tug of war between warmer inland air and the cool air coming in from the San Pablo Bay, creating an ideal environment to grow red varieties. Oakville's diverse soils, namely ancient sea bedrock, clay and gravel, are well-drained, and perfect for high-caliber viticulture.
Cabernet here is often bottled varietally but is also popular in Bordeaux Blends. Oakville wines are known for their silky, sensual textures, structured tannins, dark and brooding fruit and lovely aromatics. These age-worthy and prestigious wines are favored by collectors throughout the world.