Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Mon Chevalier comes from Knights Valley and is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon brought up in puncheons. It's another beautiful, Bordeaux-like wine from Morlet that has lots of cassis and red plum fruits as well as cedarwood, graphite, crushed rocks, and violet aromas and flavor. Young and relatively unevolved, it has juicy acidity, plenty of mid-palate depth, sweet fruit, and a beautiful finish. Give bottles a good 3-4 years and it should keep for 20-25 years in cold cellars.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Coming from an estate-owned vineyard in the Knights Valley, mainly planted to clone 4, the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Mon Chevalier (composed of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Cabernet Franc) has a very deep purple-black color. It features fragrant notes of crushed red and black currants, blackberry preserves and dried bay leaves with touches of tilled black soil, tree bark and menthol. Medium to full-bodied, there are plenty of juicy black berry flavors on the palate with a firm, grainy texture, finishing with a lingering herbal lift.
Rating:92+
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.
A small and picturesque valley separating Napa Valley on its south border and Alexander Valley to its north, Knights Valley excels in similar varieties as the two aforementioned appellations, namely red Bordeaux varieties and blends, as well as Sauvignon blanc. Originally established by Beringer Vineyards, today several outstanding producers claim acreage here. The circadian cooling effects of the nearby Pacific Ocean create a nighttime respite for vineyards during the hot growing season.