Winemaker Notes
Blend: 96% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot
Professional Ratings
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Tasting Panel
The wine is expressive and spirited, fragranced with chocolate, plum and cassis. Brandied cherries and cinnamon hang out on the upper palate for the entire ride. Enormous in stature, but lush and balanced.
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Wine Enthusiast
With 4% Merlot, this Cab is aged just over two years in French oak and given almost as long in bottle before release. The result is satisfying, a swirl of savory black pepper, espresso, black cherry and tar smoothed out by dry tannins and restrained, toasty oak. The artist featured is Sonoma-based painter Keith Wicks.
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Connoisseurs' Guide
This tricky young wine begins with a wide-open and very rich nose that is long on sweet oak and chocolate, but it surprises by being far less sprawling and much better balanced than its rather ripe-leaning aromas predict, and cassis and black cherries abound in its lengthy, well-measured flavors. It is more supple than tight in its structure, yet its moderate tannins afford a nice touch of finishing grip...
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.