Winemaker Notes
The 2015 FUTO 5500 is a true testament to this rocky hillside site. Candied violet, raspberry, rose buds, and hints of spice aromatics light up the glass. On the palate an amalgam of mixed berries, lavender, and mineral freshness complex through the core of the wine. While the tannin has density and depth, it’s also kind of suede like in its effortless flow and length. The finish ripples with purity, flavor, and freshness.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
A blend of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7% Merlot, the otherworldly 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon 5500 comes from a single vineyard planted in an old quarry and was brought up in 65% new French oak barrels. It’s unquestionably one of the top wines in the vintage and offers heavenly notes of crème de cassis, salty minerality, spicy oak, black raspberries and dried flowers. This full-bodied, opulent, yet elegant 2015 has a huge mid-palate, building, sweet tannin, incredible purity of fruit, and a finish that won’t quit. It’s already impossible to resist but will keep for 25+ years.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
This wine comes from a vineyard planted in 1986 at 150 to 300 feet in elevation. The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon 5500 is blended of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon and 13% Merlot. Deep garnet-purple colored, it reveals bold, expressive blackberry preserves, blackcurrant cordial and baked redcurrants scents with a beautiful undercurrent of rose petals, lilacs, black tea and chocolate mint with a waft of fertile loam. Full-bodied, concentrated and laden with red and black fruit layers, it has a firm, finely grained frame and wonderful freshness lifting the mineral nuances to a long finish. It was bottled unfined and unfiltered; 359 cases were made.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
Home to some of the most sought-after Cabernet Sauvignon in America, Napa Valley’s Oakville district stretches across the center of Napa's valley floor and foothills between the Vaca and Mayacamas Mountains. This AVA is home to the legendary To Kalon Vineyard and Martha's Vineyard, as well as many powerhouse wineries including Screaming Eagle, Silver Oak, Robert Mondavi, Opus One, Far Niente and Groth.
The climate is generally warm and agreeable, resulting in year after year of favorable vintages. Summer days see a gentle tug of war between warmer inland air and the cool air coming in from the San Pablo Bay, creating an ideal environment to grow red varieties. Oakville's diverse soils, namely ancient sea bedrock, clay and gravel, are well-drained, and perfect for high-caliber viticulture.
Cabernet here is often bottled varietally but is also popular in Bordeaux Blends. Oakville wines are known for their silky, sensual textures, structured tannins, dark and brooding fruit and lovely aromatics. These age-worthy and prestigious wines are favored by collectors throughout the world.