Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The deep garnet-purple colored 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate issues forth with a bombastic nose of crème de cassis, plum preserves, blueberry pie and Indian spices with touches of earth, tobacco, meat and wood smoke plus a waft of cedar. Full, rich, concentrated, very firm and grainy, it's lively and packed with fruit, finishing layered and long.
Rating: 97+ -
Vinous
The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate turned out beautifully. What a gorgeous wine. Still quite young, the 2015 possesses striking presence from start to finish. It's a wine that makes a statement, and a strong one at that. Crème de cassis, gravel, incense, new leather, tobacco and blood orange are some of the many notes that fill out the layers. The 2015 remains quite young. Readers who appreciate fully mature Cabernets might want to cellar it a bit longer. This is a very impressive showing, especially considering the severe challenges posed by a growing season.
-
Wine Enthusiast
Made by consulting winemaker Martha McClellan, this is a dark, brooding mountain wine, brawny in leather, baked cherry and raspberry. Secondary components of meat and oak are embraced in soft expansive tannins that contribute lush creamy texture and cohesion. It has an enduring element of spicy savory pepper, baking spice and tobacco that endure on the palate. Enjoy 2025–2035.
-
Wine Spectator
Dense and chewy, featuring an extracted expression of mocha, dark berry, cedary oak and graphite flavors. Powerful from start to finish, so best to let this rest. Best from 2022 through 2032.
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.
Above the town of St. Helena on the eastern slopes of the Mayacamas Mountains sits the Spring Mountain District.
A dynamic region, its vineyards, cut by numerous springs and streams, vary in elevation, slope and aspect. Soils differ throughout with over 20 distinct types inside of the 8,600 acres that define the appellation. Within that area, only about 1,000 are planted to vineyards. Predominantly farmed by small, independent producers, the region currently has just over 30 wineries.
During the growing season, late afternoon Pacific Ocean breezes reach the Spring Mountain vineyards, which sit at between 400 and 1,200 feet. Daytime temperatures during mid summer and early fall remain slightly cooler than those of the valley floor.
Spring Mountain soils—volcanic matter and sedimentary rock—create intense but balanced reds with lush and delicate tannins. The area excels with Bordeaux varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot and in some cooler spots, Chardonnay.