Winemaker Notes
Blend: 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot and 2% Malbec
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The stylish, elegant 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve (8,300 cases of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, and the balance Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec) is not as dense as either the M-Bar or Vine Hill Ranch cuvee, but it offers a beautiful marriage of power and elegance. Cedar wood, creme de cassis, spice box, and dried herb aromas soar from the glass of this medium-bodied, beautifully balanced, elegant Private Reserve, which is somewhat reminiscent of Mondavi’s 1978. It’s all about harmony, balance, and finesse in 2002. Drink it over the next 15+ years.
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Wine Enthusiast
Mainly from To Kalon grapes, this dark, young wine is not showing its best now. It hasn’t pulled the oak, alcohol, acids, tannins and fruit together into a seamless package. The individual parts stick out, nakedly, yet possess an innate balance. Mondavi Reserves age well; this one should start to open by 2010 and hold for years after.
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Connoisseurs' Guide
7% Merlot; 6%Cabernet Franc; 2% Petit Verdot; 2% Malbec. Here is a beautifully made wine that reminds that Cabernet is and should not be defined solely by ripeness and hard-charging oak, for, while it may have plenty of each, it shows exceptional balance and genuine finesse, and it is defined first and last by its precise and unwavering curranty fruit. It is wine with plenty of potential, its polish and poise notwithstanding, and it deserves at least a four or five years in the cellar in which to deepen and more fully unfold.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
Home to some of the most sought-after Cabernet Sauvignon in America, Napa Valley’s Oakville district stretches across the center of Napa's valley floor and foothills between the Vaca and Mayacamas Mountains. This AVA is home to the legendary To Kalon Vineyard and Martha's Vineyard, as well as many powerhouse wineries including Screaming Eagle, Silver Oak, Robert Mondavi, Opus One, Far Niente and Groth.
The climate is generally warm and agreeable, resulting in year after year of favorable vintages. Summer days see a gentle tug of war between warmer inland air and the cool air coming in from the San Pablo Bay, creating an ideal environment to grow red varieties. Oakville's diverse soils, namely ancient sea bedrock, clay and gravel, are well-drained, and perfect for high-caliber viticulture.
Cabernet here is often bottled varietally but is also popular in Bordeaux Blends. Oakville wines are known for their silky, sensual textures, structured tannins, dark and brooding fruit and lovely aromatics. These age-worthy and prestigious wines are favored by collectors throughout the world.