Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Jet-black fruit to this such as dark plums and morello cherries as well as coffee beans, walnuts, licorice and hazelnuts. The palate is surprisingly vivacious with a line of refreshing acidity, round, chewy tannins and a long finish. Needs time.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley opens with wonderfully expressive crème de cassis, plum preserves and blueberry pie notes with hints of pencil shavings, dried Mediterranean herbs, tapenade, wood smoke and tilled soil. Medium to full-bodied, it has a rock-solid, firm frame of ripe, grainy tannins and just enough freshness to lift the densely packed, muscular fruit, finishing long and earthy.
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Decanter
Exuberant kirsch aromas are reined in by smoky-tarry notes, cloves and black olives. Sleek and stylish with noticeable alcohol and sweet malty chocolate tones on the finish.
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Wine Enthusiast
This is a 100% varietal wine from William Hill Estate grapes. It is a softly textured effort that offers the perfect amount of underlying tannic grip. Cinnamon, red currant and plum flavors complement cured meat, black olive, soy and black licorice.
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.