Winemaker Notes
Blend: 61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Cabernet Franc, 13% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
This wine has filled out very nicely. Nearly 3,000 cases were produced of this flowery, tar, camphor, incense, blackberry, black currant, espresso and chocolate-scented beauty. A blend of 61% Cabernet Sauvignon, a whopping 22% Cabernet Franc and the rest Merlot and Petit Verdot, this full-bodied, opulent 2003 is just entering its plateau of full maturity. It is better at age ten than it was early in life from cask and post-bottling.
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Wine Enthusiast
Tannic and closed to the point of inaccessibility, this Cab-based blend, which contains Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot, comes from low-yielding vines grown 1,700 feet above Knights Valley. It all comes down to a question of ageability. The answer is it will age quite nicely. The balance is superb, and the core of fruit is there. Do not open this wine until 2010; it should continue to develop for another 10 years at least.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
A small and picturesque valley separating Napa Valley on its south border and Alexander Valley to its north, Knights Valley excels in similar varieties as the two aforementioned appellations, namely red Bordeaux varieties and blends, as well as Sauvignon blanc. Originally established by Beringer Vineyards, today several outstanding producers claim acreage here. The circadian cooling effects of the nearby Pacific Ocean create a nighttime respite for vineyards during the hot growing season.