Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
A monument to tannin, but densely concentrated, too, this full-bodied, smoky-smelling, deeply colored and potent-tasting wine wraps a thick blanket of astringency around dense cranberry, blueberry and black-olive flavors. It’s so young and tight that it should be served only with indulgent rich food to counter the bite. Best, and potentially great, after 2022. Cellar Selection.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
I also liked their proprietary red, the 2013 Proprietary Red Half Mile, which is 75% Cabernet Sauvignon and a whopping 25% Petit Verdot. The wine spent two years in barrel and, like their other wines, has an even more opaque purple color with loads of tannin. Because of the tannin this seems like a long-term proposition, as Petit Verdot mellows somewhat. It is a masculine, primordial style of red wine that needs 2-3 years of bottle age and should keep for 15 or more years.
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.
Located within the greater Clear Lake appellation, the Red Hills AVA is perhaps the hottest spot right now in Lake County for new Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards. Recognizing the potential of its volcanic and obsidian heavy soils, many respected growers are flocking to the area. Andy Beckstoffer, a leader in escalating the quality and recognition of Napa Valley, has already invested heavily in the area.