Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
A lovely Cabernet, dry and dustily tannic, with a complex array of flavors. The black cherries and cola are accompanied by firm mineral and earthy notes that make this strikingly different from your typical fruit-forward Cabernet, but then, the alcohol is a modest 13.7% by volume. All indications are of ageability. Could age at least eight years in the cellar. Cellar Selection.
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Wine & Spirits
Supple and stylish, this is a rich blend of cabernets sauvignon and franc from the Rutherford Bench. The tannins are round and chocolately, providing a cocoa-like dusting over the fruit, and a sweet Christmas spice scent to frame it. This needs time to evolve past its concentrated flavors toward greater detail.
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.