Winemaker Notes
Blend: 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Merlot, 3% Malbec
Appearance: Dark garnet red
Aroma: Very dense and brambly. The dark black fruit is complemented by sweet anise, sage, bay and toasty oak notes.
Flavor: Rich, supple and dense, loaded with dark blackberry fruit and ripe mountain tannin. Chewy, big-boned and intense, the flavors fill the pallet and continue with blackberry and coffee notes rounding out the long finish.
Professional Ratings
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Connoisseurs' Guide
53% Cabernet Sauvignon; 44% Merlot; 3% Malbec. This blend of Bordelais varieties does an exceptional job of capturing both the complexity that its makeup ought to promise as well as also showing the depth and richness of Napa Valley fruit. It is fairly full at entry with a supple feel that leads to balanced cassis and oak flavors and then to a tannic end game in need of cellaring of some six to eight years.
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.