Winemaker Notes
This wine opens with inviting aromas of dark chocolate, roasted oak, cedar, and chestnuts that build anticipation for the first sip. On the palate, rich and opulent blackberry flavors are complemented by a subtle hint of raspberry, unfolding into layered notes of roasted oak and cedar, all culminating in a long, smooth, velvety finish with a touch of spice.
Blend: 95% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petite Verdot
Professional Ratings
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Tasting Panel
The texture is plush, with a creamy base of boysen- berry liqueur, black cherry, and sweet tobacco plus a dusting of cocoa. Statuesque and graceful, with notes of graphite, crushed berry, and cedar on the refined, savory finish.
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Wine Spectator
Fresh and pure, with a steady stream of cassis and black cherry puree laced with violet and anise notes. Offers a loamy echo through the gently toasted finish. Drink now through 2038. 366 cases made.
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James Suckling
Dark berries, currants, grilled herbs, earth and asphalt on the nose. Full body with firm tannins. Chewy and structured with a mellow texture at the center and a grippy finish.
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.
The Rutherford sub-region of Napa Valley centers on the town of Rutherford and covers some of Napa Valley’s finest vineyard real estate, spanning from the Mayacamas in the west, to the Vaca Mountains on the other side of the valley.
Inside of the Rutherford AVA, bordering the Mayacamas, is a stretch of uplands called the Rutherford Bench. (These bench lands technically run the length of Oakville as well). Mountain runoff creates deep, well-drained, alluvial soils on the bench, giving vine roots plenty of reason to permeate deep into the ground. The result is wine with great structure and complexity.
Rutherford Cabernet Sauvingons and Bordeaux Blends garner substantial attention for their enticing fragrances of dusty earth and dried herbs, broad and juicy mid-palates and lush and fine-grained tannins. The sub-appellation claims some of the valley’s most prized vineyards today, namely Caymus, Rubicon and Beckstoffer Georges III.
It is also home to Napa’s most influential and historic personalities. Thomas Rutherford, responsible for the appellation's name, made serious investments here in grape growing and wine production between the years of 1850 to 1880. Gustave Niebaum purchased a large swath of land and completed his winery in 1887, calling it “Inglenook.” Today this remains the oldest bonded winery in California. Georges Latour founded Beaulieu Vineyard in 1900, making it the oldest continuous winery in the state. Latour also hired the famous enologist, André Tchelistcheff, a man credited for single-handedly defining the modern Napa winemaking style.