Winemaker Notes
Rich and powerful, our Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon unleashes ripe cassis, blackberry and dark fruit character. "This wine is built for the cellar," says Winemaker Mike Westrick. "Its classic varietal expression is intensely focused and concentrated, with muscular tannins that carry the fruit effortlessly right through the long finish."
Asian spices (especially Chinese five-spice), olive and warm oak tones heighten the aromas and permeate the full, expansive flavors. This wine's firm—but not aggressive—tannins and deep fruit flavors stand up to the richest entrées.
Professional Ratings
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Connoisseurs' Guide
If slow to start, somewhat backward and bound up in lots of tough tannin, this very deep, well-extracted Cabernet is a very serious wine of considerable content and one that is meant for the cellar. Almost brooding just now and only beginning to find the first signs of complexity, it displays tenacious black currant fruit from front to back, and its fruit emerges unscathed from its head-on collision with crunching, back-palate tannins. Find a cool, quiet place in the cellar and set this one aside for a good eight to ten years.
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.