Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Lastly, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Herb Lamb Vineyard is a true superstar in the vintage and reminds me of a great vintage of Chateau Margaux with its exotic bouquet of blue fruits, sandalwood, spring flowers, menthol, and lead pencil shavings. These all carry to a powerful, full-bodied 2018 with a weightless texture, building tannins, flawless balance, and a gorgeous finish. It's not a wine that hits you over the head with fruit, but it builds incrementally on the palate and has perfect balance as well as the class and depth to benefit from 4-5 years of bottle age and keep for 25-30 years.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Herb Lamb Vineyard is deep garnet-purple colored, offering up gregarious scents of black cherry pie, warm cassis, garrigue and kirsch with emerging hints of blackberries, wild blueberries and roses. Full-bodied, concentrated and wonderfully muscular in the mouth, it has great tension and firm, fine-grained tannins, finishing long and earthy.
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Wine Spectator
A splash of mint leads off, followed quickly by blackberry compote, cassis and açaí berry reduction flavors. A melted licorice note drapes over the finish, leaving a flattering impression while the structure stays seamlessly hidden. Hard not to like this caressingly textured display of fruit. Drink now through 2036.
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.