Winemaker Notes
As is often the case, this J. Daniel Cuvée is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, showing off the beautiful energy and purity of this vintage. The aromas and flavors tilt toward the black fruits family, including black raspberry, black cherry, boysenberry and blackberry. It has that creamy, regal mid-palate that is a signature of this flagship bottling, and a perfect balance that should allow it to grow and improve for many years to come.
Professional Ratings
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Connoisseurs' Guide
Cabernet collectors take note! Here is an incredibly deep and exceptionally structured rendition that more than deserves the much-overused term “classic,” and its marvelous combination of stamina, strength, layering and precise, terrifically sustained varietal fruit is one that is rarely equaled let alone surpassed. As great wines will inevitably do, it reveals a bit more of itself with each sniff and sip, and, even though it shows an unexpected sense of polish and manages to avoid the pronounced tannic harshness of youth, this is one that is some time away from living up to its certain promise. It is not inexpensive, but it makes good on the boast that its price tag poses.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The flagship wines include the 2014 J. Daniel Cuvée Cabernet Sauvignon, which comes from three sources – the family vineyard called Molehill at a 1700-feet elevation on Howell Mountain, the Vine Hill Ranch Vineyard and Heimark Vineyard in Calistoga. A gorgeous 2014, with notes of graphite, mulberry and blackcurrant, this full-bodied, opaque purple wine offers terrific fruit purity, sweet tannin, and a long finish of a good 45+ seconds. It was aged 19 months in 75% new French oak and is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. There are 1,064 cases, and it can be drunk now or cellared for another 25 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.