Winemaker Notes
An elegant perfume of mixed berries, baking spice, dried lavender and thyme open onto a full palate layered with expansive mixed berry, black tea, toasted oak and spice flavors. Focused and fresh, fine grained tannins support the wine throughout, while the finish is silky, long and lifted.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Including small amounts of Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Malbec, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon sports a deep purple color as well as classic Cabernet notes of blackcurrants, new leather, tobacco leaf, flowers, and lead pencil. Beautifully done on the palate and made in a seamless, elegant style, it has a kiss of Pauillac in its nicely integrated acidity, ripe, building tannins, a touch of earthiness, and a great finish. It's not a blockbuster, just seamless and elegant, with a thrilling character. It should keep for 20+ years.
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Wine Enthusiast
This memorable Cabernet Sauvignon has small amounts of Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Malbec blended in. Aged 17 months in a majority of new French oak, it unfurls flavors of red fruit, dried herb and clove over a core of youthful tannin and spicy oak.
Cellar Selection
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Composed of 93.3% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3.8% Petit Verdot, 2.3% Cabernet Franc, 0.5% Merlot and 0.1% Malbec, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley was aged for 17 months in French oak, 65% new. Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, it rolls effortlessly out of the glass with notes of stewed plums, warm cassis and black raspberries with touches of pencil shavings, dried Provence herbs and tilled soil. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a real skip in its step, featuring bright, crunchy black and red fruits and a soft texture, finishing lively.
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James Suckling
Fresh-currant, pine, mocha and licorice aromas on the nose. Praline, too. It’s medium-bodied with firm, sleek tannins. Silky and juicy.
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Wine Spectator
This has good energy, with a brambly spine driving plum and black currant fruit along while a solid bolt of iron runs underneath. Savory and bay accents hang in the background throughout.
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Wine & Spirits
A sleek cabernet, this blends Far Niente’s Oakville fruit with grapes from Rutherford, St. Helena and Calistoga. The wine developed its velvety texture over the course of 17 months in French oak barrels (65 percent new), and there’s a quiet back-and-forth between the oak and the fruit that keeps it dynamic. Decant it for charcuterie.
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.