Winter Wine: Napa Valley Cabernet

WINTER Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2007

Score:

95

Issue:

Jun 15, 2010

Offers gorgeous fruit, with amazing purity of flavor, delivering rich, concentrated, supple layers of currant, blackberry, black licorice and mocha, with subtle loamy earth. Ends with a long, full and persistent finish. Drink now through 2019. 680 cases made. – James Laube

The much anticipated 2007 vintage is here! We had the perfect combination of weather for growing Napa Valley Cabernet. Early spring rains, combined with perfect summer days gave us good heat during the day and nice cool nights. This was followed by a warm extended fall growing season which allowed us to get great ripe flavors and superb tannin maturity in the fruit. Our 2007 is an exceptionally structured pure wine with silky smooth tannins, dense, opulent rich fruit, that shows a beautiful mid palate and a long finish.

WINTER Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2006

Score:

92

Issue:

Nov 15, 2009

Firm, ripe, intense and concentrated, focused on a core of earthy currant, dried berry, mineral, sage and herb, which are woven together in an intricate way. Ends with chewy yet polished tannins. Best from 2011 through 2017. 582 cases made. – James Laube

2006 was an exceptional year. The season was longer and cooler than previous vintages. We left our grapes on the vines for an extended period throughout the fall, in order for them to reach peak physiological ripeness. The Indian summer provided us with perfect conditions for tannin development, and once again we have opted to age the wine in barrel for longer than 24 months in new French Oak barriques, which has resulted in a wine of silky smooth tannins, and a fat opulent mid-palate.

WINTER Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2006

Score:

(90-93)

Issue:

Wine Advocate #174, December 2007

"...exhibits soft tannin an opulent mouthfeel, a sensual texture, and a voluptuous display of black currant and cherry fruit gently infused with subtle wood. Fleshy, rich, and forward...15 years of evolution ahead of it." – Robert Parker

WINTER Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2005

Score:

95+

Issue:

Wine Advocate #174, December 2007

A striking, inky/ruby/purple color offers up notes of black currants, licorice, graphite, forest floor, and spice box. Flawlessly constructed with sweet tannin, good acidity, and superb purity, this is a tour de force in winemaking. Possessing both elegance and authoritative flavors, it should drink effortlessly for two decades. – Robert Parker

2005 was a much warmer and longer growing season than 2004, which allowed us to take advantage of extra hang–time in the vineyards and achieve a big, tannic structure in the grapes. The resultant wine is a powerhouse of muscular tannins and extreme ripe flavors. Oak aging in French barriques was extended in 2005 to complement the fruit explosion with fine Oak spice. The 2005 vintage is a classic expression of the varietal that can be enjoyed now or cellared indefinitely.