Winemaker Notes
The bouquet begins with cherry, black currant, clove, cedar and tobacco, slowly
evolving into black licorice, fig, candied violets milk chocolate and vanilla. The attack is soft and supple with cherry, chocolate and roasted almond leading to a silky midpalate of black and red fruits balanced with bright acidity. The wine finishes with great length featuring cedar, cherry, blackberry, tobacco and vanilla. It is recommended that you decant at least an hour before for the wine to show beautifully now, although it will age for at least a decade or more.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The fabulous 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon is virtually all 100% new oak-aged Cabernet Sauvignon. A dense purple color is accompanied by smoky barbecue, charcoal, crème de cassis, coffee, chocolate and graphite notes. Full-bodied, opulent, fleshy and sensual, it can be consumed over the next 10-15 years.
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Wine Spectator
An ultraripe style that pushes ripeness to the edge of prune without going over the top. Offers opulent and extracted plum, blackberry, blueberry and jam flavors, ending with ripe berry notes and extracted tannins. Drink now through 2028.
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.