Winemaker Notes
Pair with a hearty red meat, duck or veal cut. To bring out the flavors in the wine, complement the entree with sides or sauces featuring mushrooms, roasted tomatoes or garden spices (oregano or thyme).
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
The 2013 Trefethen Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the brightest stars from one of the Napa Valley's best vintages in recent years. Beautiful from start to finish, the wine's impressive nose—bold black fruits, lively black currants, sweet oak—scripts a scene of delight. Serve with a Porterhouse steak topped with blue cheese. Starting to drink nicely. (Tasted: July 20, 2016, San Francisco, CA)
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James Suckling
Classic producer makes a beautiful red. Bright aromas of blueberries, raspberries and black licorice. Full-bodied, firm and silky. Wet earth, bark and mineral undertones. Fantastic now but better in 2018.
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Tasting Panel
Ripe, cherry and blackberry nose; smooth and racy, supple and elegant; long and graceful, balanced and lovely.
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Wine Enthusiast
This wine is expansive and juicy on the palate. A tight grip shows its youth while the underlying softness on the texture reflects the relative coolness of the growing spot. It imparts Napa's robust ripeness in its depth of cassis, chocolate and black pepper.
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.
As one of Napa’s coolest sub-appellations, the area begs for diversity among its vineyards. Merlot and Chardonnay firmly compete with Cabernet Sauvignon for a place here. Some of Napa’s best Zinfandels also come from the Oak Knoll District.
Situated far in Napa’s southern end, Oak Knoll receives a strong cooling influence from both the San Pablo Bay and the Pacific Coast’s evening fog and breezes. Summer days are warm but on average ten degrees cooler than in St. Helena farther north up the valley; summer nights are chilly. A long growing season promotes for leisurely ripening of grape berries, resulting in an impressive balance of sugars, phenols and acidity.
Notable producers include Trefethen, one of the appellation’s oldest wineries, Robert Biale, legendary Zinfandel producer and Lewis Cellars, a family-run, hands-on establishment.