Winemaker Notes
This wine demonstrates intrigue from the very start, with dark red and blue fruits on the nose. A medley of mixed berry flavors is complemented by subtle mineral notes. The texture is incredibly plush and velvety, showing ample balance, depth and complexity from beginning to end.
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: I have to admit that I allowed the 2017 Nickel & Nickel State Ranch hypnotize me. TASTING NOTES: This wine is impeccable from start to finish. Its focused aromas and flavors of black fruit, dust, and chalk are long and boundless. Pair this wine with grilled ribeye and friends who love their Cabernets. (Tasted: September 5, 2019, San Francisco, CA)
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James Suckling
Soft and easy with round tannins and attractive berry, currant, chocolate and almond character. Medium to full body. Delicious finish. Drink now.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon State Ranch gives up chocolate-covered cherries, wild blueberries and warm cassis scents with touches of violets, star anise, mossy bark and crushed rocks. Medium to full-bodied, the palate offers a good amount of juicy fruit with soft, well played tannins and an earthy finish.
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Wine Enthusiast
From a site planted to both older and younger vines, this is a juicy, tannic and chalky wine, textured in oak and tannin. Red and black cherry highlight a soft, supple midpalate that develops in the glass, lifted by black pepper and clove.
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.
One of Napa Valley's most historic sub-appellations, Yountville spreads through some of the valley's ideal cooler sites and enjoys success with a handful of different and significant grape varieties.
Syrah competes strongly with Cabernet Sauvignon here for optimal vineyard real estate followed by Pinot noir, Pinot blanc and Sauvignon blanc.
This sub-AVA of Napa Valley is rich in the history that makes Napa Valley what it is today, and not just for red wines. Moët & Chandon entered the California winemaking business via Yountville in 1973 with the establishment Domaine Chandon. Their goal has always been to produce top quality méthode champenoise sparkling wines.
Christian Moueix, originally responsible for managing Chateau Petrus and La Fleur-Petrus in Pomerol, arrived in Yountville in the early 1980s. He formed a partnership with Rohin Lail and Marcia Smith, inheritors of Napanook vineyard from their father John Daniel of Inglenook in Rutherford. In 1995 Moueix became sole owner of Napanook and chose the name Dominus, which today produces some of Napa’s highest scoring, age-worthy Bordeaux Blends.