This blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon and 19% Cabernet Franc is xtraordinarily rich and amazingly balanced for such a big wine. Stands out even in its pedigreed Rutherford neighborhood. Dense in blackberry, cranberry, sour cherry and oaky flavors. Firm in tannins. Great now but will develop through 2010 and beyond.
— S.H.
(10/1/2004)
A beautiful young Rutherford Cabernet, showing the dusty elegance and complexity of a top estate. There’s a rich herbality to the cherry, cassis and blackberry fruit, suggesting fresh green chervil, sage and thyme. Oak adds harmonious notes of vanilla, cedar and char. The tannins are thick and juvenile, but very finely ground. With 8% Cabernet Franc, this lush wine…
— S.H.
(2/1/2008)
This blend of the two Cabernets is fantastically concentrated and delicious. The blackcurrant and cured olive flavors are so sweet and deep, the tannins so rich and smooth, the mouthfeel so creamy and mellow, it’s almost like sipping melted chocolate infused with creme de cassis. A stunning success for the vintage.
— S.H.
(11/15/2003)
A gorgeous Cab, lush and soft and delicious. Shows a New World, cult winemaking sensibility, with superripe fruit and melted tannins framing blackberry and cherry pie, cassis, dark chocolate, anise and cedar flavors. Should age for the next ten years.
— S.H.
(3/1/2009)
This blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon and 35% Cab Franc has silky ripe tannins that support black-cherry, raspberry, plum, chocolate, spice, herb and earth flavors. The finish is racy yet in keeping with the style—elegant and supple to the end. —J.M.
— J.M.
(2/1/2003)
What a fine, elegant Cab. It’s not a blockbuster, the kind of Cab designed to impress through sheer size, but one designed for the upscale table. Elegant and refined, it shows ripe currant, carob and oak flavors wrapped in soft, intricate tannins. Drink now–2012.
— S.H.
(5/1/2007)
Good Cabernet, dry and complex, showing classic Napa character. The tannin structure is near perfect, while the flavors are ripe and juicy in blackberries, cherries, currants and cedar. Polished now and through 2013.
— S.H.
(6/1/2010)
A lovely Cabernet, dry and dustily tannic, with a complex array of flavors. The black cherries and cola are accompanied by firm mineral and earthy notes that make this strikingly different from your typical fruit-forward Cabernet, but then, the alcohol is a modest 13.7% by volume. All indications are of ageability. Could age at least eight years in the cellar.
— S.H.
(6/1/2012)