Winemaker Notes
Dark and brooding, the bouquet offers intense huckleberry, red cassis, and black tea aromas, laced with hibiscus flower and brown sugar. The palate is firm initially, but with aeration opens up to give layers of dense cocoa, sweet spice, ripe black fruit and iodine, with touches of violet. The finish completes with a coda of hibiscus, sweet huckleberry, smoky tea and cocoa tannins.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon 55% Slope (14.9% alcohol) displays notes of licorice, camphor, charcoal, truffles, graphite and cassis. Rich, full-bodied, deeper, longer and more intense than the 2008, this stunning 2009 is one of the finest Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignons ever produced. Drink it over the next 15+ years.
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Wine Spectator
Dark, rich and layered, with tiers of dense dark berry, graphite-crushed rock, cedar, mocha and brownie flavors, ending with dried herb and tobacco accents. The fruit density stands out. Drink now through 2024. 3,385 cases made.
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Wine Enthusiast
This wine tests the critic’s judgment. Is it just a fruit bomb, bursting with cherries, raspberries and blackberries, enhanced with caramelized oak? Or is it a Cab that needs time? All indications suggest the latter. The tannins are thick and hard, courtesy of the vineyard’s high altitude in the Mayacamas Mountains, and the acidity is perfect to protect the wine as it evolves in the bottle. Give it until at least 2017.
While Sonoma County is acclaimed—and rightfully so—for its Chardonnays, Pinot Noirs, and Zinfandels, it also produces exceptional Cabernet Sauvignon. Of the region’s 18 American Viticultural Areas, only a handful produce top-notch Cabernet Sauvignon. These appellations include Alexander Valley, Knights Valley, Sonoma Valley and Dry Creek Valley. Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignons made in these appellations can offer a complex array of aromas and flavors. Fruit notes such as blackberry, blackcurrant, cassis, black cherry and raspberry often are accompanied by hints of graphite, dusty earth, cigar box, toast and vanilla. The varietal has a rich history in Sonoma, and some of these Cabernet Sauvignons and Cabernet-based blends rival the best from Napa Valley.