Winemaker Notes
The Pacific Ocean fog and mild coastal air balance out the sunny hot days and bring cool evenings in California’s North Coast, creating ideal conditions for growing Cabernet Sauvignon. Grapes for this wine are sourced from areas throughout the North Coast AVA, including Sonoma and Lake counties. Fruit forward and balanced, this wine is bursting with aromas of dark fruits and toasted nuts with hints of blackcurrant and rose petal. The palate shows rich flavors of dark cherries, hazelnuts, mocha, and a touch of vanilla leading into a long finish. The tannins are round and smooth.
Enjoy this wine with braised short ribs, sautéed portabella mushrooms, well-seasoned steak, or hard cheeses such as aged cheddar or gouda.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This big, structured wine will need an equally big, meaty dish to pair with, since it wraps very firm tannins around delicious spices and black fruits. A good sense of layering and concentration helps it stand out from the pack. Best from 2024.
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.
Reaching up California's coastline and into its valleys north of San Francisco, the North Coast AVA includes six counties: Marin, Solano, Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino and Lake. While Napa and Sonoma enjoy most of the glory, the rest produce no shortage of quality wines in an intriguing and diverse range of styles.
Climbing up the state's rugged coastline, the chilly Marin County, just above the City and most of Sonoma County, as well as Mendocino County on the far north end of the North Coast successfully grow cool-climate varieties like Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and in some spots, Riesling. Inland Lake County, on the other hand, is considerably warmer, and Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Sauvignon Blanc produce some impressive wines with affordable price tags.