Winemaker Notes
2004 Portfolio Limited Edition shows deep color with engaging fragrant ripe dark berry and a fresh summer floral bouquet. Opulent and generous mouthfeel, the wine possesses a well-built structure with supple and silky tannins. The concentrated mid-palate of cassis, cedar and spicy sweet oak expands in the mouth and lingers on the finish. Elegance, harmony and complexity, the wine promises resilience and longevity. It will cellar well for many decades.
Blend: 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Smooth-textured, with ripe, spicy plum and black cherry fruit that's well-proportioned, elegant and balanced. Gains depth and richness on the finish, where the flavors are denser and more complex. Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc.
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Wine Enthusiast
This is a small-production blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc made by a winemaker who knows a lot about Bordeaux blends, Genevieve Janssens, the longtime vintner at Robert Mondavi. It's ripe and pretty tannic, with cassis and smoky, 100% new oak flavors. An ambitious wine, it's quite good, and needs time in the cellar to soften and resolve.
Covering the most vine acreage in the state compared to any other red wine variety, Cabernet Sauvignon produces as much wine in California as Merlot and Pinot Noir combined. The state’s diverse terrain and microclimates, as well as the freedom of its winemakers, allow for an incredible range of wine styles from this single grape.
California’s most famous region—and especially for Cabernet Sauvignon—is the acclaimed Napa Valley. While Cabernet is successful throughout the world, rarely has it achieved such merit as it does from the Napa Valley. At this point the two are so intrinsically linked that it is difficult to discuss one without the other.
Napa’s closest neighbor, Sonoma County, does an impressive job keeping up with Napa’s fame and glory. Alexander Valley, Sonoma Mountain, Moon Mountain and Knights Valley contribute to the lot of some of California’s top-rated Cabernet Sauvignon.
Lake County in California’s North Coast has become a focus for some of Napa’s more respected growers. From the Central Coast come iconic examples of classic California Cabernet; Lodi and the Sierra Foothills are great budget-friendly sources of amicable Cabernets.