Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
I was also able to taste a bottle of the 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve To Kalon Vineyard during my visit, and it's a beautiful, fully mature effort with lots of currant, white truffle, tobacco leaf, and hints of iron in its full-bodied, seamless profile. It's not massive by any means, but it has that classic 2012 open, seamless, seductive style. Enjoy bottles any time over the coming decade.
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Wine Enthusiast
From one of the Napa Valley's most historically famous sites, this Cab delivers a testament to gamy blackberry and blueberry alongside complex cassis, clove and black licorice. Full bodied and richly concentrated, it's also soft and well integrated, entirely pleasurable now, with years to go in terms of structure and body. Cellar through 2027 and possibly beyond.
Cellar Selection
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.