Winemaker Notes
Blend: 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot, 7% Petit Verdot, 3% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
There are 703 cases of the 2014 Proprietary Red Estate, a blend of 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot and the rest Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. It is aged 20 months in 80% new French oak. The wine, from a vineyard just off the Silverado Trail, is a delicious fruit-forward, beautiful wine with dusty, loamy soil undertones, red and blackcurrants, licorice and a touch of tobacco leaf. It is deep, full-bodied, opulent and ideal for drinking over the next 15 years.
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Vinous
The 2014 Red Wine shows all the flamboyance of the Cabernet Sauvignon but with more vibrancy and greater aromatic presence. Dark cherry, red plum, pomegranate, spice, new leather and high-toned blood orange saturate the palate. This explosive Napa Valley red hits all the right spots for this style.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
One of Napa Valley's most historic sub-appellations, Yountville spreads through some of the valley's ideal cooler sites and enjoys success with a handful of different and significant grape varieties.
Syrah competes strongly with Cabernet Sauvignon here for optimal vineyard real estate followed by Pinot noir, Pinot blanc and Sauvignon blanc.
This sub-AVA of Napa Valley is rich in the history that makes Napa Valley what it is today, and not just for red wines. Moët & Chandon entered the California winemaking business via Yountville in 1973 with the establishment Domaine Chandon. Their goal has always been to produce top quality méthode champenoise sparkling wines.
Christian Moueix, originally responsible for managing Chateau Petrus and La Fleur-Petrus in Pomerol, arrived in Yountville in the early 1980s. He formed a partnership with Rohin Lail and Marcia Smith, inheritors of Napanook vineyard from their father John Daniel of Inglenook in Rutherford. In 1995 Moueix became sole owner of Napanook and chose the name Dominus, which today produces some of Napa’s highest scoring, age-worthy Bordeaux Blends.