Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This 100% cabernet sauvignon has developed enticing complexity with age, and now layers a savory, tobacco leaf complexity over its well-concentrated, generous fruit components. Estate grown at 300 meters elevation, it offers black cherry, black olive and bay laurel aromas, then a rather firm texture, fine-grained tannins, a full body and a long finish.
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Wine Enthusiast
This is a bright, engaging and vibrant 100% varietal wine, lovely in currant, cranberry and a sanguine earthiness. The acidity is weaved throughout and entirely supportive, uplifting the fruit to greater heights of freshness and focus.
Editors' Choice
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Wine & Spirits
This is formal, almost austere Cabernet, with the same deep, black tannins that you find in many of the great 2013's from Napa Valley, just presented in a slightly cooler tone. At first, there’s a pretty, foresty scent and an impression of dark mineral structure dammed up behind a layer of French oak. Give it a day of air, and its savory flavors explode, saturating the senses with smoky, woodsy spice that feels connected to the rocky volcanic soil and forests of Sonoma Mountain rather than oak barrels. It's massive yet refreshing, with floral detail in the end—a wine to keep in the cellar for at least a decade.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Deep garnet-black colored, the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate is evolving into notes of sandalwood, leather and cigar boxes over a core of crème de cassis, dried mulberries and potpourri. The full-bodied, maturing palate has softened tannins and spicy/meaty flavors complimenting the berry preserves, finishing with some earthy layers and a menthol lift.
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.
Defined more by altitude than geographical outline, the Sonoma Mountain appellation occupies elevations between 400 and 1,200 feet on the northern and eastern slopes of the actual Sonoma Mountain and is part of the greater Sonoma Valley appellation. The mountain reaches 2,400 feet; its hills separate the cooling winds of Petaluma Gap from the Sonoma Valley.
On a cooler western flank, Pinot noir, Chardonnay and Syrah enjoy a great deal of success. Vineyards on its warmer, eastern side, interspersed with heavily forested areas, tend to include Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Zinfandel, and Syrah. Given its complexity of topography and mesoclimates, Sonoma Mountain excels with a wide range of grape varieties.