Winemaker Notes
The wine reveals a profound dark color. Intense and focused, the nose exhibits aromas of plum, cassis, smoke and charcoal. When tasted the wine has wonderful depth and purity. The style is smooth and elegant, finishing with the characteristic J. Daniel Cuvee lingering sweet tannins.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
This 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from Robin Lail and her husband is still a baby in terms of development. Notes of sweet damp earth, forest floor, charcoal, graphite, black currants and white chocolate emerge from this full-bodied, complete, textured wine. It needs another 2-4 years of cellaring to resolve its tannin, but it is a long, pure, rich, riveting example of Cabernet Sauvignon that should drink well for another two decades or more. Rating: 94+
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Wine Enthusiast
Made from Howell Mountain grapes, yet rich and approachable in youth. There are huge, chewy tannins, but they're sweet, and frame black currant and cherry-chocolate fudge flavors. This makes it sound like a dessert wine, but it's dry and balanced and entirely satisfying.
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Wine Spectator
Dark, intense and deeply concentrated, framed by solid, mouthcoating tannins, the core blueberry, plum and black cherry flavors are intense and focused, shining through the oak and tannins on the finish, where a nice touch of mocha adds dimension.
Undoubtedly proving its merit over and over, Napa Valley is a now a leading force in the world of prestigious red wine regions. Though Cabernet Sauvignon dominates Napa Valley, other red varieties certainly thrive here. Important but often overlooked include Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties well-regarded on their own as well as for their blending capacities. Very old vine Zinfandel represents an important historical stronghold for the region and Pinot noir is produced in the cooler southern parts, close to the San Pablo Bay.
Perfectly situated running north to south, the valley acts as a corridor, pulling cool, moist air up from the San Pablo Bay in the evenings during the hot days of the growing season, which leads to even and slow grape ripening. Furthermore the valley claims over 100 soil variations including layers of volcanic, gravel, sand and silt—a combination excellent for world-class red wine production.