Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Latro from Knights Valley is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon aged 20 months in two-thirds new French oak before being bottled unfined and unfiltered. This has a touch of roasted Provençal herbs in it, with some white chocolate and terrific blackcurrant intensity intermixed with a hint of graphite. Full-bodied, opulent and flamboyant, this is a beauty to drink over the next 15 or so years.
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Wine Enthusiast
This is a big bold wine, rough and sinewy in layers of leather, oak, tannin and earthy tobacco. The earthiness presents as a mix of wild mushroom, sage and cedar, with a sanguine meaty edge to the black fruit.
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.