Winemaker Notes
Year after year, this wine is defined by extraordinary depth, power and a graceful, full-bodied shape. In some of the best years, such as this 2016, these same qualities grow in intensity and precision. One of the great joys of working with incredible sites like the Weitz Vineyard for so many years is being able to look back for reference while relishing the current vintage. The multifaceted aromatics suggest cigar box, boysenberry, tack-room and violet oil. The completely saturating mouthfeel resonates with notes of black tea, brambly black fruit, allspice and crushed rock. The finely integrated tannins provide a pleasing structure for the lengthy finish, which fleshes out for nearly a minute after tasting. This wine possesses robust flavors, aromas and just the right amount of structure, allowing it to drink well now and age in the cellar over the next 10+ years.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Materium is a step up and offers a truly incredible bouquet of crème de cassis and blackcurrant fruits intermixed with complex forest floor, chocolate, smoked herbs, and spring flowers. It’s elegant and complex yet also full-bodied, powerful, and opulent, with a seamless texture that needs to be tasted to be believed. It gains layers and depth with time in the glass and has incredible tannin quality, good freshness, and a blockbuster finish, all making for an insanely good Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon to enjoy over the coming 2 decades or more.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A barrel sample, the 2016 Materium Cabernet Sauvignon reveals a deep purple-black color and nose of crème de cassis, blackberry pie and baked plums with hints of chocolate box, licorice, tar and violets plus a waft of sage. Full-bodied, concentrated and delivering mouth-filling baked black berries and dark chocolate layers, it has ripe, velvety tannins and just enough freshness, finishing long.
Barrel Sample: 96-99
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.
Home to some of the most sought-after Cabernet Sauvignon in America, Napa Valley’s Oakville district stretches across the center of Napa's valley floor and foothills between the Vaca and Mayacamas Mountains. This AVA is home to the legendary To Kalon Vineyard and Martha's Vineyard, as well as many powerhouse wineries including Screaming Eagle, Silver Oak, Robert Mondavi, Opus One, Far Niente and Groth.
The climate is generally warm and agreeable, resulting in year after year of favorable vintages. Summer days see a gentle tug of war between warmer inland air and the cool air coming in from the San Pablo Bay, creating an ideal environment to grow red varieties. Oakville's diverse soils, namely ancient sea bedrock, clay and gravel, are well-drained, and perfect for high-caliber viticulture.
Cabernet here is often bottled varietally but is also popular in Bordeaux Blends. Oakville wines are known for their silky, sensual textures, structured tannins, dark and brooding fruit and lovely aromatics. These age-worthy and prestigious wines are favored by collectors throughout the world.