Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Shows all the hallmarks of an ageable wine. It's bone dry, big and hard in tannins, and densely packed with blackberries, cherries, cola, licorice and smoky cedar notes. Nowhere near ready. Better after 2015.
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Wine & Spirits
This starts off as black satin, mostly tannin and dark fruit, before air brings up more distinct black cherry and earth in the middle of the wine. The plush texture doesn't get in the way of the firm structue, allowing the wine to build complexity as it develops in teh glass. Cellar it for a few years or decant a bottle for roast leg of lamb.
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.