Winemaker Notes
The 2018 vintage draws complexity from a range of clones, soil types and exposures. Layered aromas feature blueberry and red raspberry with hints of fresh sage and lavender. The palate reveals generous mulberry fruit that integrates with notes of Sumatran coffee and cacao powder.
Enjoy alongside hearty meat dishes like grilled steak with porcini mushrooms, beef tenderloin with garlic brown butter, or mushroom raviolis.
Blend: 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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Tasting Panel
Comprising 97% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Merlot aged for 20 months in French oak barrels-10% of them new- this is an inviting and versatile wine. Although it is polished in texture, it isn't overly tamed, so it could work well with a steak. Showing dark berry fruit and just enough oak and tannin to frame its flavors, it will likely be enjoyed by all who try it.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Knights Valley is inviting, with notes of lavender, plum, and dark mineral earth. It has a restrained style on the palate, with fine-grained tannins, a rounded texture, and a medium build.
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.
A small and picturesque valley separating Napa Valley on its south border and Alexander Valley to its north, Knights Valley excels in similar varieties as the two aforementioned appellations, namely red Bordeaux varieties and blends, as well as Sauvignon blanc. Originally established by Beringer Vineyards, today several outstanding producers claim acreage here. The circadian cooling effects of the nearby Pacific Ocean create a nighttime respite for vineyards during the hot growing season.