Winemaker Notes
Beautiful aromas of blackberry compote, plum jam, and black & red current are complemented by subtle notes of crème de cassis and vanilla. The first sip coats your palate with silky tannins and delicate layers of bramble fruit to offer a well-balanced, approachable, and polished wine. The oak complexity of the wine is integrated amongst the black & blue fruits, with the lovely notes of warm fall spices and savory thyme. The refined tannins accompany these flavors for a medium bodied finish. This Cabernet is crafted to enjoy now, yet will continue to develop greater character and complexity if cellared through 2038.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
An impressively ripe, full and velvety red that offers quiet power through deep, dark fruit and oak-spice flavors gently framed by soft, blanketing tannins. Lush, mouth-filling and luxurious, with cocoa-dusted black cherries, black licorice, star anise and vanilla bean on the palate. Drink now or hold.
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.
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.