Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Dark, rich and intense, a vibrant, deeply concentrated and firmly tannic style. Young and tight, this wine packs in lots of rich, chocolaty plum, black currant, cherry, anise and sage and herbal flavors. Really revs up the flavors on the finish, with unfolding layers of complexity and depth.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The dense ruby/purple-colored 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon Special Selection reveals an overlay of sweet, toasty new oak intermixed with blackberries, currants, and vanilla with hints of tar, chocolate, and espresso. This big, sweet, juicy Cabernet is not the most complex effort. It is overt, flamboyant, and consumer-friendly.
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.