Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 1996 Cabernet Sauvignon is superb. This opaque purple-colored effort reveals aromas of black currants, creosote, smoke, minerals, and plums. It is full-bodied, with exquisite density and terrific fruit purity and intensity, particularly in the mid-palate and length (always good signs for wines that are meant to improve and last). There is plenty of tannin, but this is a generous, impressively endowed wine that should stand the test of several decades of cellaring. Anticipated maturity: 2003-2025. The Seavey estate has 40 acres of vineyards, yet yields are so low that in 1998 they produced only 2,340 cases!
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Wine Spectator
Firm, tight and complex, with a rich, focused band of spicy currant, mineral, plum, cherry, cedar and anise, turning rich and flavorful on the finish.
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.