Winemaker Notes
Iridium is a wine designed to bring a singular thought to life: great wines come from great vineyards, and never so much as when the winemaking and winegrowing teams work hand in hand to carefully nurture the finest fruit toward a well-rewarded harvest. In 2015, Iridium exhibits the purity of fruit expression, polished tannins and rich texture that are quickly becoming the signature of this bold and opulent wine. Classic Napa Cabernet notes of mocha, cassis and dark fruits are accented with oak spice, caramel toffee and layered flavors that linger, leaving a lasting impression. Built to last, the wine will reveal its inner personality over many years to come.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Dark cherries, black plums, mulberries, granite, olives, graphite and lead pencil. Full-bodied with chewy and very structured, velvety tannins that melt together on the center palate. A very complete wine that maintains a great sense of poise and finesse, while packing a real punch of concentration. Very long on the finish. Drink in 2025.
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Wine & Spirits
Harry Hansen blended this wine from vineyards including Meigs in Wooden Valley, Sleeping Lady in Yountville, Hewitt in Rutherford and the winery’s Peterson estate on Diamond Mountain. He fermented it in a combination of concrete tanks, stainless steel and French oak, then aged it for 18 months in French oak barrels, 66 percent new. It is, by far, the best Sterling wine we’ve tasted in decades. Its fresh damson plum flavor gives it the classic profile of a finely ripened cabernet, while rocky tannins provide a firm structure to surround that sleek core of fruit purity. It’s beautifully knit and sustains that integration over the course of days, developing detail in its flavors while holding fresh. Built to cellar.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Iridium is made of 100% Cabernet Sauvignon aged 19 months in 66% new French oak. It has a deep garnet-purple color and reveals crème de cassis, Black Forest cake and bay leaves with hints of incense, baking spices, Sichuan pepper and underbrush plus a touch of wood smoke. Medium to full-bodied with a firm, chewy structure and plenty of earthy layers, it finishes on a mineral note.
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Wine Enthusiast
Named for a rare element as this wine is only made in certain vintages, this is a 100% varietal wine in an impressively silver-adorned bottle. Grippy and with a baked fruit quality, it tastes of plum, dried cherry and currant, with a soft rounded midpalate of leather, coffee and cedar. The finish continues to grip.
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Wine Spectator
A flashy style, with creamy plum, boysenberry and cherry flavors, laced with melted red licorice and mulling spice notes. Features just enough spine to stay together on the finish. For the hedonist crowd.
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.