Winemaker Notes
The 2016 James O'Neil Cabernet Sauvignon offers a seamless and elegant expression of our top blocks from the Sullivan Estate. Aromas of dark cherry and dark chocolate meld with subtle hints of vanilla and coffee bean, exciting the palate for what's to come. From entry to finish, the wine is lithe and seamless. There is a savory quality to the wine-fine velvety tannins are complemented by bright acidity and freshness. True to the consistent quality from the Sullivan Estate, the 2016 James O'Neil Cabernet Sauvignon embodies the ultimate sense of luxury.
Professional Ratings
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Tasting Panel
Dark, meaty, and dense, with rich vanilla, toast, and ripe plum; smooth, creamy, and exquisite.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The star of the show is the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon James O’Neil, which is based on 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot. Beautiful tobacco, violet, and floral notes as well as loads of cassis fruits emerge from this beauty, and it’s full-bodied, with a layered, balanced texture and terrific, gravelly earth-like minerality on the finish. Enjoy bottles any time over the coming two decades.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The current release of Sullivan's top-end wine is the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon James O'Neil, which incorporates 5% Petit Verdot and 80% new French oak. With its cedar and cassis nose, this is classic, valley-floor Cabernet, possessing hints of mocha, a ripe, full-bodied, velvety mouthfeel and a lingering, supple finish. It should drink well for up to two decades.
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Wine Enthusiast
From an historic producer now in new hands, this is a lovely, brawny powerhouse red that opens in classic dustings of dried herb, cedar and pencil shavings. Black pepper and coffee bean accentuate the savory, exotic and textural notions at the heart of this grippy wine that is tight and focused in tannin and ripeness. This could stand some time in the cellar; enjoy best from 2026–2031. Cellar Selection
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.