Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
John Williams at Frog's Leap is not out to make the ripest cabernet in the valley. He’s a grower, and it appears that he tuned his organically farmed vines precisely to the long, moderate 2007 season, producing a wine that stretches from the roots to the leaves and reaches toward cool, pure, tightly balanced fruit. It’s an elegant cabernet, the fruit transparent enough to show the character of Rutherford through the lens of woodland strawberries and red and black currants. Delicious on release, this gets better with air, as it will in bottle. A wine to cellar for ten years and enjoy along the way with lamb.
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Wine Enthusiast
Good Cabernet, dry and complex, showing classic Napa character. The tannin structure is near perfect, while the flavors are ripe and juicy in blackberries, cherries, currants and cedar. Polished now and through 2013.
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.