Winemaker Notes
Silkily structured and loaded with fruit, this wine is the embodiment of powerful elegance. 2018 was a remarkable vintage—the long growing season allowed the grapes to achieve full phenolic maturity, while the lack of extreme weather created the ideal conditions for harvesting at peak ripeness. The resulting wine is both a winemaker’s and wine lover’s dream—fresh, tense, deep, complex and long. Aromatics of allspice, blue fruits, leather, cocoa and endless other descriptors impress as the waves of lush texture wash over the palate. Full bodied without being heavy, the wine’s natural acidity provides the freshness to balance the generous structure and fine mountain tannin. The finish is long and rewarding. Enjoy now and as the wine matures over the next 25+ years.
Blend: Cabernet Sauvignon 82%, Cabernet Franc 17%, Petit Verdot 1%
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The flagship 2018 Profile checks in as a blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot. It's not far off the style of the St. Helena Estate release yet has a touch more precision and purity, and maybe concentration. Dense purple-hued, with rocking notes of blackcurrants, smoked tobacco, graphite, chocolate, and freshly sharpened pencils, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a pure, layered mouthfeel, lots of ripe tannins, and a great finish. This is a brilliant wine, and it shows the style and class of this vintage nicely. It's approachable today, given its balance and purity, yet will evolve for 25+ years.
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Wine Spectator
Another example of how good '18 is, this brims with cassis, dark plum and blackberry fruit but stays reserved overall, while subtle loam, cedar and iron notes keep it grounded. The long, well-defined finish has cut and drive. Should cruise in the cellar. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.
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James Suckling
Here’s a medium-bodied Napa red with round, fine tannins that give a caressing texture to the delicious berry, chocolate and walnut flavors. Lightly chewy at the finish. Drinkable now, but better after 2022.
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Wine & Spirits
Grown at Merryvale’s Profile Estate in Conn Valley—25 acres of rocky hillsides rising to an elevation of 1,000 feet—this cabernet ferments without added yeasts and rests for close to two years in French oak barrels (80 percent new). For now, it’s a master class in the riches of oak, from nutmeg spice to fine tannins with the dark roasted scent of espresso. There’s energy behind those tannins, the wine youth- fully reductive, its fruit hidden for now, waiting to reveal itself with bottle age.
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.