Winemaker Notes
This flagship wine is full and rich and even across the palate. Black current and cherry aromas marry with a hint of cedar in this elegant and seamless Cabernet-based blend. The complexity of flavors is carried across the palate in a silky texture, resolving in a lingering and gentle finish. The Claret, Napa-Style, is made of the best we have in the cellar – a classic Left Bank Bordeaux-style blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Smooth, rich and complex, this is full-bodied, with firm, focused currant, sage and dusty berry fruit that runs deep with concentration, unfolding to reveal blackberry, mineral and light cedary oak flavors. Cabernet Sauvignon.
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.