Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Pleinair spent 18 months in 58% new French oak before being bottled unfined and unfiltered. This elegant, stylish Cabernet Sauvignon, created from four different sources in Napa, exhibits a deep ruby/purple color as well as textured, blueberry, red and blackcurrant fruit, cedarwood and background toast, and a medium to full-bodied, plush style. There are 1,100 cases of this beauty that sells at a realistic price. Drink it over the next decade or more.
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Wine Enthusiast
Concentrated in raspberry liqueur and balsamic tanginess, this is a juicy, soft and smooth wine, with plenty of structure and complexity. Blackberry coats the palate along with a savory tip of tobacco and black tea, components that linger on the finish.
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.