Winemaker Notes
Blend: 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Petit Verdot, 4% Malbec
Professional Ratings
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Connoisseurs' Guide
As deep as any of its high-priced cousins and far more polished than most, the 2007 HaLo is a striking wine of real complexity and nuance. It teams plentiful, keenly defined, curranty, varietal fruit with sweet and wonderfully sympathetic oak spice, and its impressions of richness are matched by those of particularly fine balance. It is replete with the sturdy latter-palate tannins that an age-worthy young Cabernet requires, and, here again, it shows a sophisticated sense of refinement that reaffirms its place as one of the very best in its class.
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Wine Enthusiast
A bit difficult to approach now, this has tight tannins that lock down the wine with astringency. Blended with a little Petit Verdot and Malbec, it slowly reveals massive layers of blackberries, cassis liqueur and dark chocolate, remaining stubbornly tight throughout. Many people will drink it soon with beef, and that's fine, especially with a good decant, but it should reward even more... Cellar Selection.
One of the most prestigious wines of the world capable of great power and grace, Napa Valley Cabernet is a leading force in the world of fine, famous, collectible red wine. Today the Napa Valley and Cabernet Sauvignon are so intrinsically linked that it is difficult to discuss one without the other. But it wasn’t until the 1970s that this marriage came to light; sudden international recognition rained upon Napa with the victory of the Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon in the 1976 Judgement of Paris.
Cabernet Sauvignon undoubtedly dominates Napa Valley today, covering half of the land under vine, commanding the highest prices per ton and earning the most critical acclaim. Cabernet Sauvignon’s structure, acidity, capacity to thrive in multiple environs and ability to express nuances of vintage make it perfect for Napa Valley where incredible soil and geographical diversity are found and the climate is perfect for grape growing. Within the Napa Valley lie many smaller sub-AVAs that express specific characteristics based on situation, slope and soil—as a perfect example, Rutherford’s famous dust or Stags Leap District's tart cherry flavors.