Winemaker Notes
The purpose with this wine is to feature Crown Point's hillside vineyard and its synergy with Cabernet Sauvignon. The higher elevation combined with an increased rock content brought a tension into the wines that balance the heat and sunshine. The winery noticed the California clones adapt well to the Mediterranean conditions in this warm year. The clones that provide the backbone to this wine are Clone 8 - defined by its fresh fruit character, tracing back to Chateau Margaux - and To Kalon Clone 2 - infamous To Kalon vineyard selection in Napa delivering spice and concentration. Marked by its intensity, there are complex notes of cherries, blackberries, and floral tones in harmony with it's trademark savoriness.
Blend: 95% Cabernet Sauvignon 5% Petit Verdot Harvest
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Dark and concentrated in the glass, this bottling immediately reveals an elegantly refined polish. Aromas of blackberry, dark cocoa and black pepper lead into a palate that's concentrated but perfectly ripe. Flavors of black currant, vanilla, toast and a hint of mint are wrapped in complex yet smooth tannins and ample, fresh acidity.
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Jeb Dunnuck
More pure cassis, violets, lead pencil, and flowery incense notes emerge from the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon, which has another level of purity, precision, and elegance. Offering full-bodied richness and beautiful balance, with ripe tannins, it's another gorgeous wine in this lineup.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Medium ruby-purple, the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon, blended with 4% Petit Verdot, has a pretty perfume of rose petals, mushroom powder and graphite with notes of mint chocolate and thyme. Medium-bodied, it has super fine tannins and uplifted acidity that highlights its floral perfume, finishing very layered.
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James Suckling
A juicy and succulent red with lots of ripe black and blue fruit, dark chocolate, licorice and bay leaf. Full body. Slightly lifted alcohol adds warmth to the palate. Long finish with ripe fruit. Drinkable now, but will improve nicely in the bottle.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
On the eastern end of the Santa Ynez Valley, the rolling hills of the tiny Happy Canyon AVA produce top quality reds from Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Syrah and whites from Sauvignon blanc. The region’s low-nutrient soil grows smaller vines and in turn, higher quality wine grapes.