Winemaker Notes
Very short yields in 2017 from a small collection of hillside and bench-land vineyards in Calistoga, Rutherford, and Oak Knoll created a wine of Napoleonic stature – compact and powerful with a winning character. A battalion of ripe black fruit and blueberry compote is infused with sultry spices, charcuterie, clove, and dark chocolate aromas. Expansive on entry, the broad-reaching palate develops a tailing regiment with crushed rock, toffee, and polished tannins.
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2017 Lewis Cellars Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon exhibits and exquisite balance between bold, ripe fruit and plenty of oak. TASTING NOTES: This wine shows explosive aromas and flavors of blackberries and toasty oak. Enjoy it with grilled beef-Argentine style. (Tasted: May 4, 2020, San Francisco, CA)
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Wine Spectator
Ripe and winey in feel, with a wave of warm black currant and fig compote flavors rolling through, inlaid with cocoa, sweet tobacco and dark licorice notes. This moves slowly but assuredly. Drink now through 2032.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Lastly, the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve has a big, rich, mineral-laced style that's going to need bottle age. Black fruits, charcoal, graphite, tobacco, and scorched earth notes give way to a medium to full-bodied, concentrated, structured 2017 that does well in the vintage. The grippy tannins let you know it's a 2017, yet I do like the overall concentration here. Give bottles 3-4 years in the cellar, and it should keep nicely over the following decade. Rating : 92+
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.