Winemaker Notes
Grown on one of the oldest Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards in Napa Valley this elegant wine starts with complex aromas of brambly blackberry, rosehip, red currant, and blood orange followed by flavors of sweet cherry, blueberry, rosemary, and dry peat. The tannins are soft and round and velvety leading to a long luscious finish.
In honor of Miljenko "Mike" Grgich’s 100th birthday, Grgich Hills Estate dedicated this remarkable vintage to him. This rich, yet elegantly balanced wine is a wonderful tribute to his enduring legacy.
Blend: 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Petit Verdot, 6% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
-
Decanter
Legendary winemaker Mike Grgich is winemaker emeritus here now, while his nephew, Croatian-born Ivo Jeramaz, manages day-to-day operations. Older vines supply the grapes for this vintage, commemorating Mike's 100th birthday. And what a tribute: heady dark berry aromas, grilled meat, coffee and baking spices meet succulent red and black berry preserves, tobacco, clove and violet notes. The palate is framed by striking tannins with real grip, finishing with mouthwatering acidity and a wave of brown baking spices.
-
Jeb Dunnuck
One of the clear standouts here is the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Yountville Selection, which has a concentrated, slightly rustic, yet still enjoyable and character-filled style, and it’s clearly well-made. Dark fruits, sous bois, tobacco, and damp earth all define the bouquet, and it’s medium to full-bodied, with firm tannins and good acidity. It should have 15 years of longevity.
-
James Suckling
Blueberries, blackberries, currants, bay leaves and chocolate orange on the nose. It’s full-bodied with firm, fine tannins. Compact yet sleek and elegant with a mineral finish.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Yountville Old Vine is flashier and more open on the nose than the 2018 version, with more obvious cedar and caramel overtones, as well as more exuberant notes of black cherries and cassis. It's medium to full-bodied, a bit plumper seeming on the palate, with a grainier feel to the tannins and a long, velvety finish.
-
Wine Enthusiast
Dark, ripe, almost thick, this plush and chocolaty wine coats the palate with dried figs, charred oak, cocoa, dark plums and mint, as a thick layer of soft tannins wraps around them all.
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.