Winemaker Notes
The 2017 VHR Cabernet Sauvignon offers beautiful floral aromas of violet and lavender, with bright damson fruit, ripe blackberry, dark chocolate with a hint of cedar and tobacco. Gorgeous black cherry, currant and cocoa powder notes are framed by structured, opulent, yet elegant expressions of the Cabernet Sauvignon variety nascent to the individual vineyard blocks contributing to the vintage. The wine’s finish is lengthy and powerful with a complexity and balance that have become signatures of the vineyard.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Displays a lovely flow to the pure cassis, cherry puree and plum sauce flavors, which are supported by refined tannins as they sail through the finish, picking up violet, warm earth and lightly singed alder accents along the way. This shows no midpalate gap nor any toothy structure. Really well done.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Compared to the vintages on either side, the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon is the weaker link, but it's still an excellent wine. Hints of barrel char and dark chocolate join red berries on the nose, while the palate is full-bodied and concentrated, with some dusty tannins taking a prominent role on the finish.
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.