Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Black in color, glyceriney. Massive, deep, tremendous. Some will find it overpowering in New World extraction, but it's a real beauty in that style. Explodes in black currants, chocolate and new oak, almost overripe, with suggestions of raisins. Almost dessert-like, but stays dry and elegant. Defines modern Napa Valley cult Cabernet Sauvignon.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Staglin's primary red wine is their estate Cabernet Sauvignon, which comes from their beautifully manicured and cared-for vineyards in the hillsides of Rutherford. None other than David Abreu looks after the viticulture, and of course that means yields are frightfully low. The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate has a Bordeaux-like, cedary nose intermixed with black currants, crushed rocks, smoke, and earth. The wine has beautiful texture, lots of layers, depth, richness, and a long finish. The overall impression is one of elegance and restraint, but without sacrificing richness. This wine should evolve nicely for at least two decades.
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Wine Spectator
Smooth and fleshy, with an appealing mix of spicy red currant, black cherry, plum and light cedary oak, joined by a loamy earthiness. Gains velocity and length, while remaining elegant and supple.
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Connoisseurs' Guide
The distinct dusty spice of Rutherford overlies elements of black tea and currants in the deep, yet still somewhat backward nose of this bottling, yet the wine's flavors are riper and rather more forward than expected and are not quite so deep in fruit. Things tighten up in the latter-going even though tannins are not at all overbearing, and a wait of three to five years seems to be what is required here.
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.