Winemaker Notes
The resulting wine has an ever-growing list of aromas, from raspberry and sage, to cardamom, orange peel, cedar, black licorice, and newly tanned leather. The longer the wine sits in the glass, the more layers are revealed. The wine's brilliant red-purple hue hints at its dense fruit core, which is followed on the palate by a rush of baking spices, incense, orange oil, and completed by a mouthwatering, savory finish. It has "great bones," a proper tannic scaffold to support the wine as it ages. While accessible now with a careful decanting, the 2016 Cervantes will continue its beautiful journey and gain complexity over many years to come.
Blend: 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, the deep garnet-purple colored 2016 MMXVI Cabernet Sauvignon gives up gregarious notions of warm red and black currants, black raspberries and warm plums with hints of chocolate mint, pencil shavings and tilled loam plus a waft of lilacs. Full-bodied, firm and grainy, the palate is built like a brick house with super ripe, super firm tannins and bags of bold, expressive, multifaceted fruit, finishing very long and mineral-laced.
Rating: 96+
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.