Winemaker Notes
Blend: 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2012 Proprietary Red The Bard, a 500-case blend of 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot, is meant to showcase the finest Cabernet Sauvignon grapes they access from such great Napa Valley sites as Beckstoffer To Kalon, Beckstoffer Dr. Crane, Fortuna and Weitz. Beautiful notes of pungent baking spices, licorice, melted chocolate, espresso, blackberries and cassis soar from the glass of this ostentatious, flamboyant, classic, locked-and-loaded Cabernet Sauvignon. There is some tannin lurking under the surface, but this majestic superstar behaves as if it wants to be drunk young as well as over the next 15-20 years.
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.