Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Saturated red-ruby. Thoroughly ripe aromas of black raspberry, cassis, bitter chocolate, minerals, tar and sexy oak. Sweet, dense and concentrated, with a strong mineral underpinning and excellent grip. Finishes very long and ripe, with big, tongue-dusting tannins. A superb showing.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
There are 1,600 cases of the 1999 Jericho Canyon Vineyard Proprietary Red. It is a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. This wine boasts both an impressive opaque purple color and bouquet of creme de cassis, roasted coffee, melted chocolate, toasty oak, licorice, and creosote. It is full-bodied, thick, and rich, with brooding but well-integrated tannin under all the flesh and density.
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Wine Spectator
A big, rich, intensely flavored wine with complex flavors and ripe tannins. The core of currant, kirsch, black cherry, coffee and anise is accented by beefy, leathery nuances and chewy tannins. Needs time. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.
Undoubtedly proving its merit over and over, Napa Valley is a now a leading force in the world of prestigious red wine regions. Though Cabernet Sauvignon dominates Napa Valley, other red varieties certainly thrive here. Important but often overlooked include Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties well-regarded on their own as well as for their blending capacities. Very old vine Zinfandel represents an important historical stronghold for the region and Pinot noir is produced in the cooler southern parts, close to the San Pablo Bay.
Perfectly situated running north to south, the valley acts as a corridor, pulling cool, moist air up from the San Pablo Bay in the evenings during the hot days of the growing season, which leads to even and slow grape ripening. Furthermore the valley claims over 100 soil variations including layers of volcanic, gravel, sand and silt—a combination excellent for world-class red wine production.