Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
This boutique blend of 95% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Petit Verdot and 2% Malbec is a broodingly backward, formidably endowed, full throttle, pedal-to-the-metal style of Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2004’s 15.5% alcohol is well-concealed by the wine’s wealth of fruit and glycerin. This full-bodied beauty is black as a moonless night. It exhibits abundant notes of plums, blackberries and creme de cassis as well as nicely integrated wood, acidity and tannin. It will offer an impeccable well-made, stunningly rich, complex, two-fisted glass of Cabernet Sauvignon over the next 15+ years.
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Wine Spectator
A big, rich style that packs a wallop of mocha-laced dark berry, black licorice, dusty wood and loamy earth notes, maintaining a wonderful sense of elegance and finesse. The tannins show no sign of subsiding, so drink now if you want to enjoy the robust fruitiness.—2004 California Cabernet blind retrospective (August 2014). Drink now through 2022. 875 cases made.
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.