Winemaker Notes
Blend: 77% Cabernet Franc, 13% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Aromas of blackcurrants, dried herbs, leather and wet stone. Full-bodied with velvety tannins. A hint of iodine on the palate. Herbal character colors the black fruit. Well balanced with well-attuned intensity. Best after 2024.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Sourced from the Frediani Vineyard up near Calistoga, Relic's 2019 Cabernet Franc The Prior boasts gentle, herbal hints of sage, marjoram and tobacco against a backdrop of black cherries. It's full-bodied, rich and velvety, with plenty of weight and density, yet there's a feeling of freshness and a dusting of fine-grained tannins on the lingering finish. A blend of 77% Cabernet Franc, 13% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, it spent 20 months in 100% new French barrels yet remarkably doesn't seem oaky at all.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2019 Cabernet Franc The Prior is medium to full-bodied and relatively fruit-forward, with a complex bouquet of jammy blueberries, crushed flowers, thyme, and sappy herb nuances. A blend of 77% Cabernet Franc, 13% Merlot, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, drink this ripe, round, seamless red over the coming 10-12 years.
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Wine Spectator
Juicy and direct, with a solid core of red and black currant compote flavors mixed with flashes of warm earth, bittersweet cocoa and singed alder. Shows good grip on the tobacco-filled finish, giving this a bit of muscle in the end. Drink now through 2032. 193 cases made.
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.