Winemaker Notes
Blend: 70% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
Beautiful and majestic, the 2014 Cave Dog Red Wine—a blend of 70 Merlot and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon—comes across like a fine Right Bank wine. The wine offers red currants, cocoa powder, and racy minerality in its aromas and flavors. Its bright finish pairs it nice with duck confit. (Tasted: March 29, 2017, San Francisco, CA)
Undoubtedly proving its merit over and over, Napa Valley is a now a leading force in the world of prestigious red wine regions. Though Cabernet Sauvignon dominates Napa Valley, other red varieties certainly thrive here. Important but often overlooked include Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties well-regarded on their own as well as for their blending capacities. Very old vine Zinfandel represents an important historical stronghold for the region and Pinot noir is produced in the cooler southern parts, close to the San Pablo Bay.
Perfectly situated running north to south, the valley acts as a corridor, pulling cool, moist air up from the San Pablo Bay in the evenings during the hot days of the growing season, which leads to even and slow grape ripening. Furthermore the valley claims over 100 soil variations including layers of volcanic, gravel, sand and silt—a combination excellent for world-class red wine production.