Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate has a very pretty nose of fragrant earth, red and black currants, black plums and underbrush with hints of cigar box and pencil lead. Medium to full-bodied, it fills the mouth with expressive earth and black fruit flavors, supported by a seamless backbone of ripe tannins and great freshness, finishing long.
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Vinous
The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate is a super-classic wine from the estate during this era. Sumptuous dark-toned fruit, espresso, dried herbs, flowers, graphite and bay leaf are some of the many aromas and flavors that open in the glass. This mid-weight Cabernet has aged impeccably and promises to drink well for another decade, give or take.
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Wine Spectator
Sleek and polished, this is a textural triumph, with silky tannins and rich, well-defined flavors of dark berry, currant, cassis, mocha, cedar and road tar. Drink now through 2032.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate is classic in the vintage, and each of these releases from Staglin show their place of origin as well as the vintage beautifully. Loads of blueberries, violets, camphor, and forest floor notes all emerge from this ultra-fine, elegant, yet concentrated Cabernet Sauvignon that has beautifully integrated tannin, a great mid-palate, no hard edges, and a great finish. It's deceivingly approachable but is going to evolve for 20+ years given its incredible balance and purity.
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.