Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Ripe and focused, with a vivid beam of plum puree and mulberry compote flavors pumping through, carried by a racy graphite-edged structure and layered with singed alder, tobacco, black tea and ganache accents. Very solid for the vintage.
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James Suckling
Black currant and lead pencil aromas with some violet undertones. Full-bodied with lots of berries and open-grained tannins that are polished yet slight firm in the finish.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Starting with the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon, this deep purple-hued effort offers tons of cassis, blueberry, and black cherry-like fruit as well as chocolate and leafy herb notes. It's ripe and balanced, with good tannins and a great finish. Drink this outstanding Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon over the coming 10-12 years.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Sage, bay and perhaps a touch of mint accent the black cherry fruit in Etude's 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley. It's reasonably full-bodied and rather open-knit, with a loose weave of tannins running across the mid-palate and through the long, flavorful finish.
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.