Winemaker Notes
Blend: 95% Cabernet Sauvignon; 3% Malbec; 2% Petite Verdot
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Fresh and fruity, this elegant Cab is supported by smaller percentages of Malbec and Petit Verdot. Firm tannins and a low imprint of oak allow the cinnamon-dusted black cherry and cassis to speak, girded by a fine structure and peppery finish.
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Connoisseurs' Guide
Serious Cabernet at the forty-dollar price point has become a fairly rare commodity these days, but this one delivers the goods, and its combination of fruity depth, very careful proportion and a genuinely complex varietal voice is one that earns it high praise indeed. It is supple and fleshy with a fine sense of solidity, and yet it is always trim and well-balanced, and all of its many parts mesh seamlessly together. Its polish is such that it will almost certainly invite early drinking, but very good things lie ahead for this one, and the smart money says to wait for a few years.
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Wine Spectator
Up-front notes of creamy, toasty oak make for a pleasant introduction, leading the way for supple blackberry and wild berry fruit, accented by shades of espresso and licorice. Ends clean and pure. Drink now through 2024.
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.