Winemaker Notes
With a deep, clear ruby tone in the glass, the wine presents an alluring nose of plum and cassis enveloped by scents of cedar, flint, bergamot rind and spice. It's wonderfully rich and textured on the entry with great fruit intensity that escalates through the palate. Supple in contour, the wine captures pure ripe red and dark fruits that sustain through to a structured, elegant finish.
Blend: 96% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Hamel Family Ranch is a blend of 96% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Cabernet Franc from vines planted in the mid-1990s. Medium to deep ruby-purple, it has classic aromas of cedar, graphite, violets and cassis with nuances of charcuterie, leather, milk chocolate and dried herbs. In the mouth, it’s medium to full-bodied with mineral-laced fruits and a firm, grainy frame, finishing very long with good freshness.
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.
Perhaps the most historically significant appellation in Sonoma County, the Sonoma Valley is home to both Buena Vista winery, California's oldest commercial winery, and Gundlach Bundschu winery, California's oldest family-run winery.
It is also one of the more geologically and climactically diverse districts. The valley includes and overlaps four distinct Sonoma County sub-appellations, including Carneros, Moon Mountain District, Sonoma Mountain and Bennett Valley. With mountains, benchlands, plains, abundant sunshine and the cooling effects of the nearby Pacific, this appellation can successfully produce a wide range of grape varieties. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Gewürztraminer, and most notably, Zinfandel all thrive here. Ancient Zinfandel vines over 100 years old produce small crops of concentrated, spicy fruit, which in turn make some of the Valley's most unique wines. These can also be made as “field blends” (wines made from a mix of grape varieties grown in the same vineyard) along with Petite Sirah, Carignan and Alicante Bouschet.