Winemaker Notes
Initial aromas of this ink-dark Scarecrow vintage are deeply ripe raspberries on the vine, black cherries and milk chocolate. With time, notes of root beer, anise and sweet forest-floor emerge. The palate is exceptionally soft. Smooth at entry with an intensely fruit-driven midpalate, the finish lingers in cherry and mocha flavors as the silky texture slowly dissipates. The finished wine was bottled without fining or filtration in late July of 2006.
Grapes from the oldest vines were fermented in an open-top tank and punched down three times daily, while the other fruit was fermented using pump-overs and cap irrigations. The wines were transferred into small, 100% new French oak barrels directly after pressing and aged separately for the first year. In summer of 2005 the separate lots were carefully combined and spent the following 13 months as a final blend in barrels. Production for the 2004 Scarecrow totaled 312 cases.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A staggeringly great wine from this iconic property in Rutherford, Scarecrow’s 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon (100% Cabernet Sauvignon) boasts a dense ruby/purple color, a deep, rich, full-bodied style with perfect balance/equilibrium, stunning purity, lots of creme de cassis, minerality and floral notes, a persistent finish, and a staggering personality that is a sign of singularity as well as greatness. The finesse of the tannins is fabulous. Drink it over the next 15-20 years.
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Wine Spectator
Shows the gorgeous purity of rich Cabernet fruit, with fleshy plum, blackberry, dusty earth, firm cedar and dried herb notes, exhibiting a wonderful sense of harmony and proportion. Youthful and firming on the finish.—2004 California Cabernet blind retrospective (August 2014). 312 cases made
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.