Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
A reduction of tar and meaty leather at first overrides elusive fruit in this 100% varietal wine. It's alluring nonetheless, for its soft tannins and toasted hits of oak. Currant, clove and tobacco give a savory, compelling and complex edge to the full-bodied frame.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The two red wines include the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Pleinair, which comes from Napa vineyards Atlas Peak, St. Helena, Diamond Mountain and Howell Mountain. Aged 20 months in 53% new French oak and bottled unfined and unfiltered, the wine is a beauty, with notes of loamy soil interwoven with red and blackcurrants, tobacco leaf and forest floor. It is medium to full-bodied, shows excellent purity, a nicely layered mouthfeel and ripe tannins. It should drink well for at least 15 or more years. Rating: 92+
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.