Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Mortar and a taste of black-olive tapenade ride softly layered waves of leathery tannin and peppery clove in this richly balanced wine that features tension between notes of cedar and cured meat. Focused and full bodied, it'll do well in the cellar; drink now through 2023. Cellar Selection.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The other Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Latro is 100% from Jackson family owned vineyards in Knights Valley. Aged 20 months in 63% new French oak and bottled unfined and unfiltered, this is a more earthy, tannic, structured style of Cabernet Sauvignon compared to the Pleinair from Napa. It is dense ruby/purple and shows licorice, Christmas fruitcake, blackcurrants and loamy soil notes in abundance. It is medium-bodied, elegant and very well made. Drink it over the next 15+ years.
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.
A small and picturesque valley separating Napa Valley on its south border and Alexander Valley to its north, Knights Valley excels in similar varieties as the two aforementioned appellations, namely red Bordeaux varieties and blends, as well as Sauvignon blanc. Originally established by Beringer Vineyards, today several outstanding producers claim acreage here. The circadian cooling effects of the nearby Pacific Ocean create a nighttime respite for vineyards during the hot growing season.