Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Like listening to cool mellow rock 'n' roll. Extraordinary aromas of violets and dark fruits such as blueberries and currants. I can't get over the aromas here. Then it goes to minerals with just a hint of bay leaf. Full-bodied, with velvety tannins with a beautiful softness and beautifulness. I love the balance and harmony to this with bright acidity. I would drink this before the 2007. Just under 1,000 cases of 12 but all sold in threes. Reminds me of Leoville Las Cases but with Napa brightness. Enjoy or hold for a long time.
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Wine Spectator
This beautifully crafted red combines power with finesse, serving up layers of dense, intense currant, mineral, mocha, espresso, graphite and cedary oak flavors that are full-throttled and focused, with a deep, churning base of smoky tannins that give this a wonderful finish. Best from 2013 through 2023.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
After a perfect wine in 2007, I suppose the 2008 is something of a letdown. A hundred percent Cabernet Sauvignon (800 cases), this is still an outstanding wine, with classic graphite, creme de cassis, blueberry and floral notes all well-presented in the perfumed aromatics of this full-bodied, rich, concentrated wine. It has some noticeable tannins to be resolved and is not as seamless and flawless as the monumental 2007. Nevertheless, this is a gorgeous wine to drink over the next 20+ years.
Rating: 93+
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.