Winemaker Notes
Deep black cherry, cassis and red currant flavors with graceful mineral tones. Well-extracted, elegantly muscular, with chewy,soft tannins.
Blend: 99.3% Cabernet Sauvignon, 0.7% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Sourced from Pocket Peak, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Jackson Estate Hawkeye Mountain is packed with aromas of concentrated black plum skin, cedar, and sage. This is a full octane wine that does not shy away from its structure and power. Notes of dried herbs, fresh tobacco, primary black fruits, and light bourbon toast emerge on the palate. Hold this red a couple years and enjoy over the next 10 or more years.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
It has layered aromas of cassis, coffee beans, sage, olive and bay leaves. The full-bodied palate offers generous, nuanced fruit framed by grainy tannins, and it has a long, graphite-laced finish.
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.
Nearly a northern extension of Napa Valley, Alexander Valley starts just north of the small, Knights Valley, and is just a few minutes drive from the Napa town of Calistoga. It is Sonoma County’s hottest AVA. But the Russian River, which runs through the valley, creates cooler pockets and its soft, alluvial soil is ideal for grape growing, especially Cabernet Sauvignon. In fact, some believe that Alexander Valley Cabernets truly rival the best from Napa Valley and many of the heavy-hitter producers have largely invested here.
In addition to Cabernet Sauvignon, which makes up over 50% of plantings, Merlot and old vine Zinfandel thrive here. Ample, fleshy Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc dominate white wine production. Some old-vine plantings of Grenache have also been discovered and more recent experiments with Sangiovese and Barbera show great promise.