Winemaker Notes
Blend: 97% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Oakville is from the well-known McWilliam Oakville Vineyard, made famous by Nils Venge when he made wine at Villa Mt. Eden from this site. It has rich, broad, but velvety tannins, a medium to full-bodied mouthfeel, and up-front drinkability (which is somewhat surprising), but gorgeous seductiveness and plenty of blackcurrant and black cherry fruit. This full-bodied, precocious and lusty style should drink well for 10-15 years.
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Wine Spectator
Firm, dense and chewy, with a wall of extracted tannins and flavors of dark berry, mocha and blackberry amid a loamy earth and crushed rock minerality. The fruit pushes through on the finish against clinging tannins. Drink now through 2030.
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.
Home to some of the most sought-after Cabernet Sauvignon in America, Napa Valley’s Oakville district stretches across the center of Napa's valley floor and foothills between the Vaca and Mayacamas Mountains. This AVA is home to the legendary To Kalon Vineyard and Martha's Vineyard, as well as many powerhouse wineries including Screaming Eagle, Silver Oak, Robert Mondavi, Opus One, Far Niente and Groth.
The climate is generally warm and agreeable, resulting in year after year of favorable vintages. Summer days see a gentle tug of war between warmer inland air and the cool air coming in from the San Pablo Bay, creating an ideal environment to grow red varieties. Oakville's diverse soils, namely ancient sea bedrock, clay and gravel, are well-drained, and perfect for high-caliber viticulture.
Cabernet here is often bottled varietally but is also popular in Bordeaux Blends. Oakville wines are known for their silky, sensual textures, structured tannins, dark and brooding fruit and lovely aromatics. These age-worthy and prestigious wines are favored by collectors throughout the world.