Winemaker Notes
Opaque purple-ruby. Cabernet is prominent in the pleasant aromatics, as expected, leaning toward dark fruit, with the spice, smoke and cedar of the oak underpinnings just detectable behind round, dried-blueberry-like purple fruit. On the palate, tannins are soft at first, gradually building.
Pair with cheeses and meats, moderately rich braised dishes, such as pot roast, braised short-ribs or a hearty beef and mushroom stew. Retains its flavor and structure with rich, meaty foods, and shows its softer, fruitier side with full-flavored cheeses. It will pair with almost anything you like with red wine. A strong candidate for the cellar, the structure of this wine should allow it to age with grace and become even more lovely and nuanced over time.
Blend: 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Petit Verdot, 13% Cabernet Franc, 13% Malbec, 13% Merlot
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Dense and chocolaty, this deep, dark and mouth-filling Bordeaux-style blend is a big one. It oozes blueberries, blackberry syrup and dark chocolate cradled in masses of soft tannins for a palate-coating effect. Rich enough for an after-dinner drink and a good idea to decant first.
Undoubtedly proving its merit over and over, Napa Valley is a now a leading force in the world of prestigious red wine regions. Though Cabernet Sauvignon dominates Napa Valley, other red varieties certainly thrive here. Important but often overlooked include Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties well-regarded on their own as well as for their blending capacities. Very old vine Zinfandel represents an important historical stronghold for the region and Pinot noir is produced in the cooler southern parts, close to the San Pablo Bay.
Perfectly situated running north to south, the valley acts as a corridor, pulling cool, moist air up from the San Pablo Bay in the evenings during the hot days of the growing season, which leads to even and slow grape ripening. Furthermore the valley claims over 100 soil variations including layers of volcanic, gravel, sand and silt—a combination excellent for world-class red wine production.