Winemaker Notes
The 2019 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon opens with aromas of red plum, raspberry, toasted nuts, dried sage and leather. The attack is silky and seamless featuring integrated polished tannins which give way to an elongated finish. Unfiltered and showing excellent density, it concludes with hints of black cherry and baking spices.
Blend: 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 3% Syrah
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
Aromas of ripe blackcurrants and raspberry jam with sweet spices and dried flowers. Full-bodied, structured and compact with fine-grained tannins and velvety, seamless texture. Lingering and chalky finish. Try after 2024.
-
Wine Spectator
This is chockablock with winey dark currant and juicy plum pâte de fruit notes, laced with hints of licorice root, tar and roasted apple wood. Offers ample structure, but it's racy and well-embedded in the fruit. Really vibrant throughout. Best from 2023
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley gives up notes of violets, cedar chest and vanilla pod over a core of crème de cassis and plum preserves. Medium to full-bodied and packed with juicy black fruits, it has a velvety texture and minty lift on the long finish.
-
Jeb Dunnuck
Readers looking for a terrific Napa Cabernet that won’t break the bank will love the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon, a rich, mouth-filling, medium to full-bodied effort with lots of red and black fruits as well as notes of chocolate, cedary oak, and even a hint of black olive.
One of the most prestigious wines of the world capable of great power and grace, Napa Valley Cabernet is a leading force in the world of fine, famous, collectible red wine. Today the Napa Valley and Cabernet Sauvignon are so intrinsically linked that it is difficult to discuss one without the other. But it wasn’t until the 1970s that this marriage came to light; sudden international recognition rained upon Napa with the victory of the Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon in the 1976 Judgement of Paris.
Cabernet Sauvignon undoubtedly dominates Napa Valley today, covering half of the land under vine, commanding the highest prices per ton and earning the most critical acclaim. Cabernet Sauvignon’s structure, acidity, capacity to thrive in multiple environs and ability to express nuances of vintage make it perfect for Napa Valley where incredible soil and geographical diversity are found and the climate is perfect for grape growing. Within the Napa Valley lie many smaller sub-AVAs that express specific characteristics based on situation, slope and soil—as a perfect example, Rutherford’s famous dust or Stags Leap District's tart cherry flavors.