Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon (from numerous clones), the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Artefact comes all from the Kenefick Ranch just across from Eisele Vineyard. Aged 21 months in 100% new French oak and sporting a deep purple color and terrific notes of blackcurrants, smoked earth, mulberries and graphite, this beauty hits the palate with lots fruit, a balanced, seamless, elegant texture, and building tannin. Straight up classic Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, drink it over the coming 15-20 years.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Artefact is scented of crème de cassis, warm blueberries, licorice and potpourri, with a dusty earth and Chinese five spice undercurrent, plus a waft of cedar chest. The medium to full-bodied palate sings of perfume and spices, with a savory stewed tea character and chewiness, finishing with a lively herbal lift.
Rating:94+ -
Wine Spectator
This rumbles with thunder, sporting licorice snap, Black Forest cake, steeped fig, mulled black currant and açai berry fruit flavors all woven together, backed by a dense, loam-tinted finish. Echoes of bay leaf and tobacco flit through. A large-scale wine in need of cellaring. Best from 2023 through 2037.
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.