Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2010 Proprietary Red Estate is composed of 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Cabernet Franc and the rest Petit Verdot. A fabulous example of Oakville Cabernet, it exhibits a deep purple color as well as beautiful notes of lead pencil shavings, forest floor, blueberries, blackberries and blackcurrants, full-bodied power, and admirable purity and symmetry. It was bottled unfined and unfiltered. Drink it over the next 20+ years.
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Wine Spectator
Explosive fruit is framed by smoky, cedary oak, with a core of blackberry and wild berry flavors that are firmly tannic and shaded by an espresso-mocha flavor that adds dimension. Finishes with firm, gripping tannins and good length. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2014 through 2025.
Undoubtedly proving its merit over and over, Napa Valley is a now a leading force in the world of prestigious red wine regions. Though Cabernet Sauvignon dominates Napa Valley, other red varieties certainly thrive here. Important but often overlooked include Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties well-regarded on their own as well as for their blending capacities. Very old vine Zinfandel represents an important historical stronghold for the region and Pinot noir is produced in the cooler southern parts, close to the San Pablo Bay.
Perfectly situated running north to south, the valley acts as a corridor, pulling cool, moist air up from the San Pablo Bay in the evenings during the hot days of the growing season, which leads to even and slow grape ripening. Furthermore the valley claims over 100 soil variations including layers of volcanic, gravel, sand and silt—a combination excellent for world-class red wine production.