Winemaker Notes
This hand crafted 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon comes from the Stone Crib single vineyard, in the heart of Rutherford, California. The nose is dense, with aromatic balance of rich dark fruit. This seductive wine shows flavors of black cassis, black cherry and a hint of cocoa. The fine plush tannins evolve into a lengthy, supple finish.
Blend: 98% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Aromas of black fruits, dried herbs, bark, licorice and spice box. Full-bodied with plush tannins. Fleshy with a vibrant, fruity character and a creamy finish. Polished.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
The 2019 Grand Napa Vineyards Stone Crib Estate Cabernet Sauvignon is a well-framed and proper wine. This wine excels with aromas and flavors of aromatic blackberries, alluring licorice, and seductive oaky notes. Enjoy it with grilled short ribs. Tasted: August 4, 2024, San Francisco, CA)
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Stone Crib Single Vineyard boasts aromas of ripe cherries, dusty earth and dry cedar, plus a hint of cinnamon. In the mouth, it's full-bodied yet silky, moderately tannic, with hints of cocoa on the long, softly dusty finish.
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.
The Rutherford sub-region of Napa Valley centers on the town of Rutherford and covers some of Napa Valley’s finest vineyard real estate, spanning from the Mayacamas in the west, to the Vaca Mountains on the other side of the valley.
Inside of the Rutherford AVA, bordering the Mayacamas, is a stretch of uplands called the Rutherford Bench. (These bench lands technically run the length of Oakville as well). Mountain runoff creates deep, well-drained, alluvial soils on the bench, giving vine roots plenty of reason to permeate deep into the ground. The result is wine with great structure and complexity.
Rutherford Cabernet Sauvingons and Bordeaux Blends garner substantial attention for their enticing fragrances of dusty earth and dried herbs, broad and juicy mid-palates and lush and fine-grained tannins. The sub-appellation claims some of the valley’s most prized vineyards today, namely Caymus, Rubicon and Beckstoffer Georges III.
It is also home to Napa’s most influential and historic personalities. Thomas Rutherford, responsible for the appellation's name, made serious investments here in grape growing and wine production between the years of 1850 to 1880. Gustave Niebaum purchased a large swath of land and completed his winery in 1887, calling it “Inglenook.” Today this remains the oldest bonded winery in California. Georges Latour founded Beaulieu Vineyard in 1900, making it the oldest continuous winery in the state. Latour also hired the famous enologist, André Tchelistcheff, a man credited for single-handedly defining the modern Napa winemaking style.