Winemaker Notes
Nuanced aromas of plum, violets, cinnamon brioche, and a hint of eucalyptus oil are found on the nose. On the palate, this wine’s big tannic grip immediately takes hold and saturates with flavor from front to back with dark black cherry, cedar smoke and roasted meat which gives way to more elegant notes of cocoa nibs, crushed rock, and briary black fruit. Overall, this wine shows a balanced expression of fruit, earth and just the right amount of barrel influence. This is a very young wine with a lot of unpacking to do which can come with a healthy decant or a long rest in the wine cellar.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Made by brilliant winemaking consultant Thomas Brown, the 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Kingly Project (100 cases; aged 20 months in French oak) comes from the Winfield Vineyard, which sits at the alluvial base of Mt. St. Helena. Sweet cassis, graphite, high-class, unsmoked cigar tobacco and background oak characteristics are present in this full-bodied, opulent, multidimensional, majestic Cabernet Sauvignon. It should age effortlessly for two decades.
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.
One of Napa Valley’s oldest wine growing subregions but last to gain appellation status, Calistoga occupies the northernmost section of the valley. Beginning at the foot of Mount St. Helena, its vineyards stretch over steep canyons and roll out onto the valley floor. The soils in Calistoga are volcanic, which means they are heavy in minerals, low in organic matter and allow good drainage for vine roots, creating less green growth and more concentration of flavor within the grape berries.
Summer days are very hot but most nights cool down with moist ocean breezes sneaking in over the Mayacamas Mountains or from Knights Valley to its northwest.
Cabernet Sauvignon is the area’s star variety with Zinfandel coming in a strong second, though the latter commands far less price per tonnage so continues to be outshined by Cabernet in vineyard acreage, save for some important exceptions.