Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2005 The Absurd (41% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Petit Verdot, and 24% Merlot) is the most intense, extracted wine of the group. However, it needs time in the bottle, no doubt because of the elevated percentage of Petit Verdot. An inky/purple color is followed by incense, camphor, melted licorice, smoke, and blueberry as well as blackberry fruit characteristics. Dense, full-bodied, powerful, and long, this wine appears set for an enjoyable, long life.
-
Wine Spectator
Elegant and stylish, with ripe, fleshy black cherry, currant and wild berry fruit that's pure, focused, full-bodied and complex. Concentrated but not heavy, ending with ripe, rounded tannins. Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Merlot.
Undoubtedly proving its merit over and over, Napa Valley is a now a leading force in the world of prestigious red wine regions. Though Cabernet Sauvignon dominates Napa Valley, other red varieties certainly thrive here. Important but often overlooked include Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties well-regarded on their own as well as for their blending capacities. Very old vine Zinfandel represents an important historical stronghold for the region and Pinot noir is produced in the cooler southern parts, close to the San Pablo Bay.
Perfectly situated running north to south, the valley acts as a corridor, pulling cool, moist air up from the San Pablo Bay in the evenings during the hot days of the growing season, which leads to even and slow grape ripening. Furthermore the valley claims over 100 soil variations including layers of volcanic, gravel, sand and silt—a combination excellent for world-class red wine production.