Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Black as Midnight, and stains the side of the glass. This is a big, extracted wine with plenty of body. Potent Cabernet aromas of black currants, tar, tobacco and herbs explode from the glass, along with lots of sweet oak.
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Connoisseurs' Guide
Once again, Pride Mountain has come up with one of the most effusively fruity and intensely characterful Cabernet Sauvignons around, and its sheer generosity comes with no compromise in genuine polish. Beautifully made with layer upon layer of sweet oak, cocoa, dried flowers and absolutely unrelenting fruit, it is as extravagant in its gifts at the close as it is to start, and its ample tannins provide plenty of structure and staying power without ever interrupting its fruity flow.
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Wine & Spirits
Dark in tone, clean and fragrant, this wine combines a sophisticated textured richness with clean, fresh berry fruit. It has the juiciness of fresh raspberries and cherries, followed by a black, tannic length. Cedary and cool, this will develop well.
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Wine Spectator
Intense and vibrant, with a tight band of spicy currant, anise, mineral and sage. Young and backward, it needs time to soften and evolve.
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.