Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The extraordinary 2007 Claret, which is a Cabernet Sauvignon-based wine, displays inky notes of lead pencil shavings, pen ink, creme de cassis, blackberry, incense, and licorice. The wine is super-pure and super-rich, an extraordinarily full-bodied powerhouse of a Cabernet Sauvignon that should evolve for 15 or more years. Its sweetness of tannin and headiness already make it accessible
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Wine Spectator
Offers a wonderful sense of harmony, balance and finesse. Ripe and rich without being heavy, this is marked by complex currant, black cherry, anise, spice and sage, gaining depth and complexity on the long, lingering finish. Drink now through 2017.
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.