Winemaker Notes
Composition: 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Enthusiast
Made with 16% Merlot to soften it, this is an unctuous, fully satisfying wine, restrained and complex, grown on the family’s Chiles Valley estate. It opens with ripe red berry and currant as well as a suggestion of vanilla, the oak providing structure and texture. Enjoy through 2025. Cellar Selection
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A beautiful bouquet of blueberry and black currant fruit intermixed with floral undertones jumps from the glass of the 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon. Medium to full-bodied, elegant, pure and nicely textured, this strong effort possesses lots of character and richness. The finish is reassuringly long. Enjoy it over the next 10+ years.
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.