Winemaker Notes
The level of flavor, color and intensity in the fruit from the Profile Estate Vineyard is truly exceptional. With 2014 being a warm vintage, it was important for us to not over-expose the fruit and make sure to pick before any late season hot weather. This allowed us to preserve the freshness and intensity of the fruit. Once in the cellar the fruit impressed us with its balance. Fermentations were healthy and the result is a wine of great depth and elegance. The oak is well integrated featuring supple, very fine grain tannins.
Blend: 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petit Verdot, 5% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Their most expensive wine is the 2014 Profile Proprietary Red Wine, which is a proprietary blend of their best lots, in this case 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. This is a big-time winner, although whether it justifies twice the price of anything else is up to the reader. Rich, inky purple-colored, with sweet crème de cassis, blueberry, forest floor and spice box, the wine is full-bodied and opulent, with a voluptuous texture, sweet tannin, and a long finish of close to 40-45 seconds. This is a beauty and certainly the best of all these wines, but again, the pricing is high.
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Wine Spectator
Aromatically complex, firm, dense and chewy on the palate, with taut dark berry, crushed rock, licorice, anise and cedar notes. Ends long and persistent. Built to age. Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc.
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Wine Enthusiast
This big bold Bordeaux-inspired blend combines 85% Cabernet Sauvignon with 10% Petit Verdot and 5% Cabernet Franc. It offers a layering of dusty sage and crushed rock around tight-grained tannin that presents as soft and structured on the palate. The integrated fruit is a welcome mix of cassis and red currant.
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.