Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This is a savory, textured wine from a ranch off the Silverado Trail in the heart of the appellation. It sings in cedar, dried herb and sage, with an inviting, earthy nose. The grippy palate develops to show smooth integration of tannin and oak, with a lasting note of tobacco leaf on the finish.
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Jeb Dunnuck
More chocolate, tar, dried tobacco, and earthy notes emerge from the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon C.C. Ranch, a medium to full-bodied, nicely textured, savory Rutherford Cabernet. I love its tannins, it has a balanced, seamless mouthfeel, terrific length, and is a classic 2017 to enjoy over the coming 15+ years.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon C.C. Ranch opens with fragrant cassis, black forest cake, kirsch and stewed plums plus wafts of pencil shavings, black olives and iron ore. The palate is medium to full-bodied and firm with nice harmony, softly spoken flavors and a chewy, quietly intense finish.
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Wine Spectator
Ripe and racy, with a focused beam of red currant and bitter plum fruit, laced with floral and iron notes. A savory edge peeks through, wrapping around the fruit on the finish, adding energy and drive. Best from 2021 through 2030.
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James Suckling
A silky and delicious red with currant, spice, and mineral aromas and flavors. Medium body. Tight and polished.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2017 Nickel & Nickel C.C. Ranch exhibits excellent brightness and elegance. TASTING NOTES: This wine is lively and active. Its refreshing aromas and flavors of red and black fruits, as well as a hint of chalk, should pair it well with grilled lamb kabobs. (Tasted: September 5, 2019, San Francisco, CA)
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.
The Rutherford sub-region of Napa Valley centers on the town of Rutherford and covers some of Napa Valley’s finest vineyard real estate, spanning from the Mayacamas in the west, to the Vaca Mountains on the other side of the valley.
Inside of the Rutherford AVA, bordering the Mayacamas, is a stretch of uplands called the Rutherford Bench. (These bench lands technically run the length of Oakville as well). Mountain runoff creates deep, well-drained, alluvial soils on the bench, giving vine roots plenty of reason to permeate deep into the ground. The result is wine with great structure and complexity.
Rutherford Cabernet Sauvingons and Bordeaux Blends garner substantial attention for their enticing fragrances of dusty earth and dried herbs, broad and juicy mid-palates and lush and fine-grained tannins. The sub-appellation claims some of the valley’s most prized vineyards today, namely Caymus, Rubicon and Beckstoffer Georges III.
It is also home to Napa’s most influential and historic personalities. Thomas Rutherford, responsible for the appellation's name, made serious investments here in grape growing and wine production between the years of 1850 to 1880. Gustave Niebaum purchased a large swath of land and completed his winery in 1887, calling it “Inglenook.” Today this remains the oldest bonded winery in California. Georges Latour founded Beaulieu Vineyard in 1900, making it the oldest continuous winery in the state. Latour also hired the famous enologist, André Tchelistcheff, a man credited for single-handedly defining the modern Napa winemaking style.