Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Utterly perfect is the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Lotus Vineyard. This 100% Cabernet Sauvignon was aged in 100% new French oak. Although limited in availability (220 cases produced), it is a wine of awesome intensity boasting an opaque purple color in addition to a brilliant floral-scented bouquet displaying aromas of cassis, black raspberries, black fruit, and forest floor. Multilayered with terrific intensity as well as a long, nearly 60-second finish, this flawlessly assembled wine is a brilliant example of Cabernet Sauvignon from the St. Helena hillsides. Give it 2-5 years of cellaring and drink it over the following 25 years. Bravo!
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Wine Spectator
A tremendous effort, dense and chewy, at points rustic but deeply concentrated, with a medley of dark berry fruits, loamy earth, mineral, sage and cedar, coming together nicely and maintaining a tight focus through the finish, where this ends with an espresso aftertaste. Drink now through 2022. 302 cases made.
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.