Winemaker Notes
Blend: 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petite Sirah, 5% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley spends 18 months in a combination of 30% new and 70% used French and American barrels. It is another big boy at 15.4% natural alcohol. This wine, which was not yet in bottle, is fabulous, and there are 42,000 cases of it. One of the strongest efforts yet from the Martinis, this cuvée still sells at a modest $38.00 – a fair price for something this compelling. The wine has an opaque purple color, a beautiful nose of blueberries, blackcurrants, licorice, camphor and graphite. The wine is full-bodied and multilayered on the palate with sensational richness and length. It should drink well for 20-25 years.
Range: 93-95 -
James Suckling
Blueberry cake, eucalyptus, spice box and blackberry compote. Lots of underbrush character on the palate, which is full with chewy tannins, some fresh acidity and a fruity finish.
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.