Winemaker Notes
Enjoy this wine with a grilled porterhouse, rack of lamb, or a winter vegetable roast.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
The nose is powerful and lifted, with classic aromas of blackcurrants, cigar box and mulberries. The palate is full-bodied with firmly integrated tannins and bright acidity, giving notes of wild blackberries, coffee beans and graphite. Balanced and integrated.
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Wine Enthusiast
Quietly powerful, quite oaky and structured for aging, this full-bodied wine wraps firm tannins around delicious red and black fruits and subtle oak accents. It feels tight at this stage yet has the components to develop more complexity and breadth of texture in time. Best from 2026–2036.
Founded by wine industry pioneer, Rod Strong, in 1959, Rodney Strong Vineyards is now owned by the Kleins, a farming-based family that prides itself on land stewardship and a relentless push for superior wine quality from Sonoma County. After purchasing the company in 1989, Tom Klein began the endeavor that today brings together excellent vineyards, the industry's finest winemaking equipment, and exceptional talent. The winery farms and sources grapes from vineyards throughout Sonoma County, focusing on Alexander Valley, Russian River Valley and Chalk Hill. Rodney Strong Vineyards is best known for its estate-bottled and vineyard-designated wines, and is also recognized for their sustainable and Fish Friendly Farming, dedication to solar energy production and becoming carbon neutral in 2009.
While Sonoma County is acclaimed—and rightfully so—for its Chardonnays, Pinot Noirs, and Zinfandels, it also produces exceptional Cabernet Sauvignon. Of the region’s 18 American Viticultural Areas, only a handful produce top-notch Cabernet Sauvignon. These appellations include Alexander Valley, Knights Valley, Sonoma Valley and Dry Creek Valley. Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignons made in these appellations can offer a complex array of aromas and flavors. Fruit notes such as blackberry, blackcurrant, cassis, black cherry and raspberry often are accompanied by hints of graphite, dusty earth, cigar box, toast and vanilla. The varietal has a rich history in Sonoma, and some of these Cabernet Sauvignons and Cabernet-based blends rival the best from Napa Valley.