Winemaker Notes
Blend: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Professional Ratings
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Tasting Panel
A stunning effort from Jayson Pahlmeyer: lush and thick with pure toasty Cabernet essence; ripe blackberry, cassis and black cherry play on the palate with notes of licorice, chocolate and sweet vanilla oak; generous and actually quite reasonably priced.
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Wine Spectator
Rich, with tiers of explosive dark berry, plum, blueberry and melted black licorice flavors. This is tight and focused, maintaining a laser beam of flavor that pushes past the gripping tannins. Best from 2015 through 2025.
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Wine Enthusiast
A substantial, 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from the producer’s own vineyard, as well as others like Stagecoach, this wine is juicy in black cherry, blackberry and plum, and exceptionally silky and smooth on the palate. High-toned on the finish, with a compelling minerality that is allowed to shine via a well-managed use of oak, it's big on the finish, and will cellar well, through 2012.
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James Suckling
A soft and rich wine with plenty of fruit and hints of walnut. Medium to full body, round tannins and a medium finish. Drink now.
One of the most prestigious wines of the world capable of great power and grace, Napa Valley Cabernet is a leading force in the world of fine, famous, collectible red wine. Today the Napa Valley and Cabernet Sauvignon are so intrinsically linked that it is difficult to discuss one without the other. But it wasn’t until the 1970s that this marriage came to light; sudden international recognition rained upon Napa with the victory of the Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon in the 1976 Judgement of Paris.
Cabernet Sauvignon undoubtedly dominates Napa Valley today, covering half of the land under vine, commanding the highest prices per ton and earning the most critical acclaim. Cabernet Sauvignon’s structure, acidity, capacity to thrive in multiple environs and ability to express nuances of vintage make it perfect for Napa Valley where incredible soil and geographical diversity are found and the climate is perfect for grape growing. Within the Napa Valley lie many smaller sub-AVAs that express specific characteristics based on situation, slope and soil—as a perfect example, Rutherford’s famous dust or Stags Leap District's tart cherry flavors.