Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
A potent wine, dark, rich and concentrated, with a tight, intense, sharply focused beam of spicy currant, black cherry, blackberry and boysenberry fruit that unfolds gracefully, revealing extra facets of depth and complexity.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The opaque purple-colored 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon boasts exceptionally sweet fruit as well as a tell-tale perfume of melted licorice, black currant liqueur, and hints of blueberries and flowers. This wine is long, ripe, and full-bodied, with the vintage's more noticeable, astringent tannin.
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Wine Enthusiast
Ripe, rich and elegant, this wine is brimming with black plum, strawberry, cassis, chocolate, spice and herb notes. It’s smooth-textured and seamlessly integrated, even at this early stage. Firm, plush tannins and just the right amount of toasty oak frame the ensemble.
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.