Winemaker Notes
Blend: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Black olives, blackberries and blackcurrants, as well as asphalt, lead pencil, crushed stone and oyster shell. Full-bodied with chewy and juicy tannins that are spread across the palate. Fuller and more flavorful than the 2018. Plush and dry, velvety texture. This needs at least five years to open. Try after 2027.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Compared to the 2018, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Highest Beauty is broader and more opulent, with a massive, full-bodied style as well as velvety tannins, lots of spicy, classy background oak, both red and black fruits, and a great mid-palate. I slightly prefer the vibrancy and focus of the 2018, but these are both brilliant wines that show the quality and style of their vintages, as well as their terroir. The 2019 is already accessible, but I have no doubt it will evolve for 20 years.
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Wine Spectator
Boasting tiers of cassis, plum, mulberry and black cherry fruit stacked on one another, this towering example relies on purity and focus as much as power, thanks to racy yet deeply embedded acidity as well as enticing violet and iron notes that fill in throughout. Rather than just lingering, the fruit ripples with underlying energy on the lengthy finish. Outright gorgeous. Best from 2024 through 2040.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Set against the 2018, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Highest Beauty seems richer and more complete, offering up seductive aromas of cassis, cocoa powder and perfumed hints of cedar. In the mouth, the wine is medium to full-bodied, with a slightly grainy texture. It's open-knit, but in a good way, ripe and welcoming rather than coarse, impeccably balanced in the manner of virtually all of winemaker Andy Erickson's top wines.
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.
Home to some of the most sought-after Cabernet Sauvignon in America, Napa Valley’s Oakville district stretches across the center of Napa's valley floor and foothills between the Vaca and Mayacamas Mountains. This AVA is home to the legendary To Kalon Vineyard and Martha's Vineyard, as well as many powerhouse wineries including Screaming Eagle, Silver Oak, Robert Mondavi, Opus One, Far Niente and Groth.
The climate is generally warm and agreeable, resulting in year after year of favorable vintages. Summer days see a gentle tug of war between warmer inland air and the cool air coming in from the San Pablo Bay, creating an ideal environment to grow red varieties. Oakville's diverse soils, namely ancient sea bedrock, clay and gravel, are well-drained, and perfect for high-caliber viticulture.
Cabernet here is often bottled varietally but is also popular in Bordeaux Blends. Oakville wines are known for their silky, sensual textures, structured tannins, dark and brooding fruit and lovely aromatics. These age-worthy and prestigious wines are favored by collectors throughout the world.