Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Generations is a wine that comes from both St. Helena and Oakville and is 99% Cabernet Sauvignon, with the balance Petit Verdot. This beauty showcases how much Jean Charles Boisset has improved the quality of the Raymond wines. There are 2,112 cases of this wine, which has an inky purple color and a beautiful nose of licorice, toasty oak, blackberry, cassis, spice box and forest floor. The wine has great intensity, a full-bodied mouthfeel, terrific balance, and well-integrated acidity, tannin, alcohol and wood. It should drink well for 25-30+ years.
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James Suckling
A well-structured red with subtle blueberry, blackberry and mineral aromas and flavors. Full body, firm and silky tannins and a fresh finish. Better in 2019 but very beautiful to taste now.
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Wine Spectator
Lavishly oaked, exhibiting a strong mix of mocha, espresso and smoke notes. The fruit holds its own, with dense blueberry, blackberry, black licorice, tobacco leaf and savory roasted herb flavors, ending with a long, full, sustained aftertaste. Drink now through 2027.
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Wine & Spirits
Most of the fruit for this wine comes from two vineyards in western St. Helena, blended with a portion from the cooler reaches of southeastern Napa. It combines the alcohol drive and power of a ripe up-valley cabernet with the cool freshness of 2013 tannins. Firm and generous in its blue fruit, the finish seems to emphasize the espresso roast flavor of oak tannins along with the black and blueberry edge of grape skins. Cellar it. (2,110 cases)
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Wine Enthusiast
The winery's top-end bottling, this shows dusty, chalky texture and aromas, along with flavors of compost, tea and tobacco. Smoothly full bodied, it weaves savory characteristics of black pepper and cedar that please within the ripeness.
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.