Winemaker Notes
Enjoy with a vegetable tart or ribeye with wild mushrooms.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve To Kalon shows beautiful elegance and poise, with classic cassis and currant fruits supported by complex dried herb, unsmoked tobacco, and flowery incense nuances. Coming from gravelly, well-drained soils, it’s full-bodied, has classic To Kalon opulence, ripe tannins, and a great finish. It’s an utterly classic Napa Valley beauty to enjoy over the coming 30-40 years.
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Tasting Panel
This remains one of the most famous wines from one of the most prestigious vineyards in the United States. The 2019 edition is marvelously successful, combining all the richness and flavor impact that one expects at this price level - along with the layered intricacy that separates great wines from merely impressive ones. All the classic Napa Cab notes are already present and on display, but they're also poised for unfurling into the future. This was delicious when first opened and remained so in differing ways when re-tasted over the course of three days.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A blend of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon To Kalon Reserve is an impressive effort. Marked by scents of cedar, cassis, black cherries and tobacco, it's full-bodied and rich on the palate, then finishes long and velvety, with a frankly yummy hint of caramel.
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Wine Spectator
Lush and loaded with warmed cassis, dark plum puree and blackberry paste flavors, this cruises through slowly, with a dark loamy underpinning and a steady drumbeat of tobacco, licorice root and roasted alder. Features an echoing violet hint, indicating inner purity amid the fairly stoic display of dark fruit. The finish is riveted with graphite. One for the cellar. Best from 2023 through 2040.
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.