Winemaker Notes
Uncompromising viticultural practices and meticulously detailed vinification rewarded us with a wine of great concentration and ripeness. The round supple tannin sin the 2005 Levy & McClellan are the result of the cool growing conditions and the extended ripening. As the wine develops, the expression of the site where it is grown continues to come to the forefront. Accentuated by the low yield in a year known for more generosity, combined with 26 months in barrel, the result is a profoundly concentrated, supple and full-bodied wine.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Levy and McClellan's 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, which spent 26 months in new oak (mostly Taransaud), is developing at an incredibly slow rate. Its opaque ruby/purple color is accompanied by beautiful aromas of roasted coffee, melted chocolate, creme de cassis, burning embers, camphor, and a hint of cedar. On the palate, the wine combines considerable substance, power, and extract with a sense of harmony as well as elegance. Black currant, blackberry, and gamy, meaty notes are also present in this full-bodied effort with an incredibly long finish. The wine is just beginning to shed some tannin and become accessible. It will benefit from another 4-5 years of bottle age, and will easily last for three decades or more. Rating: 95+
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.