Winemaker Notes
For the perfect match, start with a finer cut of beef and flavor with thyme, black pepper or rosemary. Mushrooms make an excellent side dish. For something unexpected and delightful, pair this wine with rare Ahi tuna in a peppercorn crust.
Blend: 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Malbec, 4% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Petit Verdot.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
With its fresh-herb notes and lively acidity, this Napa cabernet sauvignon has a light and fresh style that makes it very food-friendly. The red-fruit and delicate, herbal character give this plenty of appeal. With more concentration, it would rate even higher. Drink or hold.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: Over the years, Trefethen Family Vineyards has mastered the art of producing rich wines without sacrificing balance. The 2016 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon is an excellent example of the winery does best. TASTING NOTES: This wine is nicely structured. Its aromas and flavors of refined black fruit and oak accents make it a versatile pairing partner with light or heavy meat courses. (Tasted: February 22, 2019, St. Helena, CA)
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Wine Enthusiast
From the producer's estate and combined with small amounts of Malbec, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, this is an Old World-style, graceful expression of relatively cool-climate Cab, leathery and tight in tannin structure. Plum, cherry and fresh acidity give it a lift of fruitiness around dots of dried herb.
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.