Winemaker Notes
Dark crimson in color, the nose is perfumed with luxuriant aromas of red currant, boysenberry, cedar box, and Herbes de Provence. The intensely layered palate excites with flavors of cassis, graphite, blueberries, and sage, woven seamlessly together with savory, velvety tannins. The finish is long and pure, a perfect harmony of richness and elegance.
Blend: 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
-
Jeb Dunnuck
The base release is the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon and it comes from multiple sites throughout the valley. It’s a killer wine and offers the classic sweet crème de cassis and blackberry fruit that's the hallmark of the vintage. With full-bodied richness, notes of Asian spices, pencil lead, and cedar, and sweet tannin, it's already drinking beautifully yet will keep for another two decades or more.
-
James Suckling
Aromas of tar, blackberries, cloves and dark chocolate. Perfumed. Full and focused with a beautiful center palate and length. Mostly from Nathan Combs in Coombsville with some Yountville-sourced fruit. Best ever.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon leaps from the glass with fresh, exuberant cassis and crushed blackberry notes plus hints of cigar box, dried Mediterranean herbs, violets and Marmite toast. Full-bodied and built like a brick house, with firm, grainy tannins and lively acid supporting the generous black berry and savory flavors, it finishes with great length and poise. It is drinking beautifully now but has the stuffing to cellar for 12+ years.
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.