Winemaker Notes
The nose unfolds into layers of fragrant boysenberry, black and red fruits, and a delicate touch of chervil. On the palate, ripe plum and juicy purple fruit give way to creamy notes of dark milk chocolate, before gliding forward again to support the long, satisfying finish.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Lots of blue fruits, bouquet garni, mint, chocolate, and crushed stone notes, as well as some Bordeaux-like lead pencil, emerge from the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Georges III Vineyard, a full-bodied, richly textured, balanced beauty. It shows the concentrated, supple, fruited-loaded style of the vintage beautifully and is ideal for drinking over the coming 20 years or more.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon George III Vineyard rolls effortlessly out of the glass with bold notes of blackcurrant jelly, stewed plums and Morello cherries, plus wafts of Provence herbs, damp soil and truffles. Full-bodied, concentrated and laden with ripe black berry layers, it has a solid frame of grainy tannins and just enough freshness, finishing with an herbal lift.
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.
The Rutherford sub-region of Napa Valley centers on the town of Rutherford and covers some of Napa Valley’s finest vineyard real estate, spanning from the Mayacamas in the west, to the Vaca Mountains on the other side of the valley.
Inside of the Rutherford AVA, bordering the Mayacamas, is a stretch of uplands called the Rutherford Bench. (These bench lands technically run the length of Oakville as well). Mountain runoff creates deep, well-drained, alluvial soils on the bench, giving vine roots plenty of reason to permeate deep into the ground. The result is wine with great structure and complexity.
Rutherford Cabernet Sauvingons and Bordeaux Blends garner substantial attention for their enticing fragrances of dusty earth and dried herbs, broad and juicy mid-palates and lush and fine-grained tannins. The sub-appellation claims some of the valley’s most prized vineyards today, namely Caymus, Rubicon and Beckstoffer Georges III.
It is also home to Napa’s most influential and historic personalities. Thomas Rutherford, responsible for the appellation's name, made serious investments here in grape growing and wine production between the years of 1850 to 1880. Gustave Niebaum purchased a large swath of land and completed his winery in 1887, calling it “Inglenook.” Today this remains the oldest bonded winery in California. Georges Latour founded Beaulieu Vineyard in 1900, making it the oldest continuous winery in the state. Latour also hired the famous enologist, André Tchelistcheff, a man credited for single-handedly defining the modern Napa winemaking style.