Relic Wine Cellars Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 Front Label
Relic Wine Cellars Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 Front Label

Winemaker Notes

The first of Relic's Cabernet Sauvignons is here! This long-awaited Bordeaux varietal vintage is hyped, and not without cause. This wine shows why. It has immediate gratification, yet age-worthiness. It is a blend of Corona Vineyard in the Oakville hills to the West and a certain auspicious vineyard in Yountville that cannot be named. Small amounts of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc round out the package to deliver great Cabernet flavors and complexity that defy the price. Raspberry, black cherry, sage, jasmine, hazelnut butter and floral notes lead to a full-bodied, smooth, unctuous palate framed by lush tannins.

Professional Ratings

  • 90
    A muscular style, with firm, dry tannins that give this a pleasant, rustic texture and personality. The flavors are built around a core of crushed rock, graphite and dusty, cedary berry. Drink now through 2028.
Relic Wine Cellars

Relic Wine Cellars

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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.

RLCRLL12CAB_2012 Item# 197845