Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A strong and structured red with lots of dark fruits and chocolate. Full and silky with a solid core of fruit and dense tannins. Yet, it is not at all overdone. Energetic wine. Made from biodynamic grapes. Best after 2014.
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Wine Enthusiast
The wine presents an old-fashioned style, marked by hard, numbing tannins that frame ripe flavors of blackberries, licorice, cherries, mocha and black currants. Hard to tell where it's going beyond the next six years, but give it a proper decanting and drink with roasted or grilled meats.
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.