Winemaker Notes
Nice deep purple with good intensity. The nose is fresh blueberry with red and black cherry. The mouth has more vertical tannins with good tension. Intense dark cherry with a hint of plum. The finish builds in the mouth with a nice fresh and supple tannin finish.
Professional Ratings
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Tasting Panel
Winemaker Nick Goldschmidt has worked the vineyards of Sonoma for decades and believes that the land offers him counsel as he fine-tunes his wines, including this 100% Cabernet Sau- vignon, which combines grace with body. A core of boysenberry, slate, and vanilla joins chalky notes of plum skin in enhancing the balanced, juicy mouthfeel.
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Wine & Spirits
Leave it to Nick Goldschmidt to come up with an elegant single-vineyard cabernet for ... It starts off with purple plum scents, perfumed in their ripeness, then lasts on plum and blueberry flavors, rich and silken.
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Wine Spectator
Solid, with a mix of red and black cherry fruit backed by a light bramble edge, before a toasty note coats the finish. Shows good grip. Drink now through 2027. 3,100 cases made.
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.
Nearly a northern extension of Napa Valley, Alexander Valley starts just north of the small, Knights Valley, and is just a few minutes drive from the Napa town of Calistoga. It is Sonoma County’s hottest AVA. But the Russian River, which runs through the valley, creates cooler pockets and its soft, alluvial soil is ideal for grape growing, especially Cabernet Sauvignon. In fact, some believe that Alexander Valley Cabernets truly rival the best from Napa Valley and many of the heavy-hitter producers have largely invested here.
In addition to Cabernet Sauvignon, which makes up over 50% of plantings, Merlot and old vine Zinfandel thrive here. Ample, fleshy Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc dominate white wine production. Some old-vine plantings of Grenache have also been discovered and more recent experiments with Sangiovese and Barbera show great promise.