Winemaker Notes
Sourced primarily from Napa’s famed Pritchard Hill, the 2018 Veraison Cabernet delivers on the promise of the region with seemingly endless depth and layers. Aromas of iris, black licorice and black currant with a pinch of white pepper. The palate opens with lush milk chocolate while flavors of café latte and blackberry ride along elegant tannins and bright acidity to a sumptuous finish of ripe, velvety mission fig and a dusting of cocoa.
Pair with pepper-crusted ribeye with crushed garlic and rosemary-mashed potatoes or roasted eggplant with garlic and hoisin sauce.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Veraison has a deep garnet-purple color, bursting from the glass with bombastic notions of crème de cassis, blueberry pie and Black Forest cake plus suggestions of Indian spices, hoisin and dusty soil with a waft of sandalwood. The full-bodied palate explodes with black fruit and exotic spice layers, supported by plush tannins and balancing freshness, finishing long and fragrant.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Looking at the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Veraison, this is a ripe, sweetly fruited, up-front beauty that offers loads of jammy black and blue fruit as well as notes of chocolate, licorice, toasted spice, and scorched earth. With full-bodied richness on the palate, it has plenty of tannins, good overall balance, and a great finish. Enjoy this classic, ripe, opulently styled Cabernet any time over the coming 10-12 years.
One of the most prestigious wines of the world capable of great power and grace, Napa Valley Cabernet is a leading force in the world of fine, famous, collectible red wine. Today the Napa Valley and Cabernet Sauvignon are so intrinsically linked that it is difficult to discuss one without the other. But it wasn’t until the 1970s that this marriage came to light; sudden international recognition rained upon Napa with the victory of the Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon in the 1976 Judgement of Paris.
Cabernet Sauvignon undoubtedly dominates Napa Valley today, covering half of the land under vine, commanding the highest prices per ton and earning the most critical acclaim. Cabernet Sauvignon’s structure, acidity, capacity to thrive in multiple environs and ability to express nuances of vintage make it perfect for Napa Valley where incredible soil and geographical diversity are found and the climate is perfect for grape growing. Within the Napa Valley lie many smaller sub-AVAs that express specific characteristics based on situation, slope and soil—as a perfect example, Rutherford’s famous dust or Stags Leap District's tart cherry flavors.