Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon should turn out to be as good, perhaps even better than the 2007. This dense, concentrated 2008 reveals more freshness than the heat spikes of this vintage would suggest, analytically. Dense purple-colored with notes of blueberry pie intermixed with acacia flowers, roasted coffee, white chocolate and crushed rocks, this full-bodied, powerful, deep 2008 has put on considerable weight since I tasted it last year. It should be an opulent as well as structured wine that will evolve for 20-30 years.
Barrel Sample: 95-97 -
Vinous
The 2008 Red Wine Napa Valley is a huge, plush wine bursting with dark fruit, smoke, ash and licorice. Today the tannins are firm and quite imposing, but the wine develops nicely in the glass, hinting at what is to come over the next handful of years. Floral notes add perfume and brightness on the finish. This is a very beautiful, brooding wine graced with considerable class and personality.
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.