Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2014 Estate Proprietary Red is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Cabernet Franc, spending 10 months in new French oak prior to being bottled. This is a relatively small production of 263 cases. An opaque purple color leads to a wine with juicy red and black currants, licorice, tobacco leaf and spice box. The wine has serious opulence, terrific purity and extract and the 2014s’ hallmark characteristic, wonderful forward, delicious fruit and soft, silky tannins, making it approachable already. It should continue to evolve for another 20 years.
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.