Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
A massive wine that absolutely demands time in the cellar, Lancaster’s ’05 is nearly all Cabernet, with tiny amounts of the other four Bordeaux varieties. It stuns with the power and authenticity of its hilly Cabernet origins, offering vast black currant, orange rind, anise and smoky oak flavors that implode on the palate. But the tannins are hard. It should blossom and fully come into its own after 2010.
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Connoisseurs' Guide
5% Cabernet Franc; 2% Malbec; 2% Merlot; 1% Petit Verdot. A bit brooding and closed at present, this substantial young wine delivers plenty of depth and fruit extract from the start. It slowly unfolds to show plenty of dense, curranty fruit aligned with lots of sweet, slightly vanillin oak, and its incisive varietal flavors stay the course even as ample tannins come into play. A successful and serious effort in need of time in the cellar, it will not reach its best until a decade has passed.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Slightly superior is the outstanding 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate, which offers up scents of fruitcake, soil undertones, forest floor, and copious quantities of black cherries and black currants as well as soft tannins in its dense, medium to full-bodied personality.
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.
Nearly a northern extension of Napa Valley, Alexander Valley starts just north of the small, Knights Valley, and is just a few minutes drive from the Napa town of Calistoga. It is Sonoma County’s hottest AVA. But the Russian River, which runs through the valley, creates cooler pockets and its soft, alluvial soil is ideal for grape growing, especially Cabernet Sauvignon. In fact, some believe that Alexander Valley Cabernets truly rival the best from Napa Valley and many of the heavy-hitter producers have largely invested here.
In addition to Cabernet Sauvignon, which makes up over 50% of plantings, Merlot and old vine Zinfandel thrive here. Ample, fleshy Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc dominate white wine production. Some old-vine plantings of Grenache have also been discovered and more recent experiments with Sangiovese and Barbera show great promise.