Winemaker Notes
Blend: 96% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This wine contains a drop of Petit Verdot. At more than five years of age, it has shed its babyfat, and is starting to develop bottle complexity. You can certainly drink it now for its luscious red cherry, blueberry, licorice and spice flavors. The tannins are as velvety smooth as anything in Napa Valley. However, it's guaranteed to continue to develop well in the bottle. Hold until 2018, at the very least.
Cellar Selection -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Morisoli Vineyard is a beautiful, if somewhat inward wine graced with exquisite finesse. Freshly cut flowers, mint, blackberries and cassis are some of the nuances that emerge from this delineated, finessed Cabernet Sauvignon. Today the wine is a bit tight, but it should soften with another year or so in bottle. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2020.
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.