Winemaker Notes
Number 12 on Wine Spectators Top 100 Wines of 2002! The 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve is selected from their finest Napa Valley vineyards, sites that yield complex, long-lived wines. Each of these exceptional vineyards has a distinct personality – a combination of specific site, mesoclimate, soils, clonal selections and cultivation techniques -- that contributes layers upon layers of flavors to the wine. Opulent dark fruit notes of cassis, black cherry and berry reflect grapes grown on the deep soils of the Oakville bench. Nuances of spice, minerals, licorice and violet weave through the highly extracted, velvety flavors. We handcrafted the wine with a long maceration, 17 months of aging in new French chateau barrels, gentle barrel-to-barrel racking, and bottling without filtration.
We selected 82% of the blend from the Oakville AVA (American Viticultural Area), with 68% harvested from the historic To Kalon Vineyard. This vineyard has been continually planted to grapes for over 130 years, and for more than 50 years it has been the backbone of Robert Mondavi's finest Cabernet Sauvignon wines. The Oakville AVA grapes are planted on an alluvial bench where low-fertility, well-drained soils allow deep rooting and the development of complex flavors in the grapes. To enhance the ripe berry character of the wine, and complement the Oakville AVA fruit, we harvested 11% from the Stags Leap District AVA and 7% from the Carneros AVA. Grape Sourcing: Napa Valley
85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 2% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot and 1% Malbec
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
68% To Kalon. Young. Cigar ash nose, blackberries, oak. A big, firm, assertive wine, fairly tannic. Scads of juicy cherries and blackberries. Very fine, lots of character and elegance. Drinks well now with rich fare through 2020.
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Wine Spectator
An enormously complex and sophisticated wine that combines great flavors with uncommon finesse. Dark, sleek, rich and polished, with a delicious core of concentrated cola, currant, plum and blackberry. Tremendous finish. Best from 2004 through 2014. 20,000 cases made.
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.