Legendary Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

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Legendary Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley
In Napa Valley, Cabernet is king – and we have selected some of our very best for this sale!

 

2010 Freemark Abbey “Sycamore” Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon
R. Parker’s Wine Advocate Rated 94 Points
Sale Price $89.99“The brilliant 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Sycamore Vineyard (another Rutherford site on Bella Oaks Lane) is a blend of 85.4% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6.5% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot aged 28 months in barrel. It boasts an opaque purple color, terrific notes of licorice, creme de cassis, charcoal, forest floor, baking spices and earth, as well as a full-bodied mouthfeel with great fruit intensity and purity. This savory, mouthfilling beauty is best drunk over the next 20-25 years. Now owned by Kendall-Jackson, but with long-time winemaker Ted Edwards still firmly in control, Freemark Abbey has produced a large assortment of wines ranging from very good to exceptional.”
2012 Caymus “Special Selection” Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
R. Parker’s Wine Advocate Rated 94 Points
Sale Price $169.99“Exhibits a delicious, up-front core of juicy dark berry, blackberry, black licorice and creamy, toasty, vanilla-scented oak. Appropriately tannic and structured, this is made in a style you can drink now or cellar for up to a decade. Drink now through 2026.”Just released! This is the “Special Selection” bottling, following on the heels of the regular 2012 Caymus Napa Valley bottling which (while celebrating the winery’s 40th anniversary) was one of the the most popular wine we’ve sold in 2015. We are awaiting reviews and scores on the wine, but given the quality of the 2012 vintage in Napa, and the fact that the regular bottling received 96 points from Robert Parker, it’s a safe bet to assume this is going to be incredibly well received by the press. Please note that due to bottle length, this wine will need to be shipped in styrofoam packaging.
2012 Joseph Phelps “Insignia” Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
R. Parker’s Wine Advocate Rated 96-100 Points
Sale Price $199.99 (750ml) | $424.99 (magnum)“An inky/purple color is accompanied by wonderful aromas of smoky black currant and blackberry fruit interwoven with incense, camphor, charcoal and new oak. The wine is deep, multidimensional, full-bodied, rich and opulent with a voluptuous texture. Even as a barrel sample, this stunning effort is irresistible. This deep, prodigious 2012 should be approachable when released and age effortlessly for 25-30 years. The 2012 Insignia (17,500 cases expected to be produced; 14.5% alcohol) is a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petit Verdot, 10% Merlot and the rest Malbec and Cabernet Franc. It will be bottled after spending 24 months in new French oak. This looks to be a killer effort, and is probably the greatest Insignia since the 2001 and 2002.”
2010 Joseph Phelps “Insignia” Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Wine Enthusiast Rated 97 Points | Antonio Galloni Rated 96 Points
R. Parker’s Wine Advocate Rated 95 Points
Sale Price $199.99“This is, as always, a gorgeous wine, rich, balanced and delicious. It shows classic Napa Valley ripeness, with blackberry jam, plum, dark chocolate and sweet oak flavors. Plush and velvety doesn’t begin to do it justice. Despite its fabulous lushness, this is a wine to age. Depending on your taste, it will provide excellence from now until 2030. Prime for cellar selection.” – Wine Enthuasiast”The 2010 Insignia has totally closed down in bottle. Dark plums, graphite, pencil shavings, smoke and licorice all jump from the glass, but today the 2010 is in no mood to show all of its personality. Today the Petit Verdot seems especially pronounced. The tannins are sweet, layered and impeccably balanced, which makes me think the 2010 will enjoy a long drinking window once it softens. The 2010 is a beautiful, silky Insignia, but it needs time. The blend is 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petit Verdot, 4% Merlot and 2% Malbec.” – Antonio Galloni”A gorgeous, intense bouquet of pencil shavings, spring flowers, cassis, blackberries; subtle smoke and foresty aromas jumps from the glass of this full-bodied, rich, concentrated wine with soft tannins, a complex mouthfeel, and a long, rich finish displaying well-integrated acidity, tannin, alcohol and wood. This beauty is one of the top Insignias produced in recent years. Should age easily for 20+ years.” – R. Parker
2012 Stag’s Leap Cask 23 Cabernet Sauvignon
R. Parker’s Wine Advocate Rated 97-100 Points
Sale Price $234.99“The spectacular 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Cask 23 appears to be the finest Cask 23 since the glory years of the mid eighties. It boasts a dense purple color, complex notes of spice box, Christmas fruitcake, blackcurrant jam, mulberries and spring flowers, as well as a full bodied, opulent personality. It is a profound example of this iconic wine that went through a period of mediocrity in the mid to late 1990s prior to being sold. Drink now through 2038.”
2012 Lail Vineyards “J. Daniel Cuvée” Cabernet Sauvignon
R. Parker’s Wine Advocate Rated 100 Points
Sale Price $249.99“Absolutely perfect and one of the monumental wines of my long tasting trip in Napa is the 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon J. Daniel Cuvée. I didn’t see this from barrel last year. Aged 20 months in 75% new French oak and representing 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from three vineyard sources: one in Calistoga, one in Oakville and one in Howell Mountain. Robin Lail and winemaker Philippe Melka hit pay dirt with a wine that has an inky purple color, an almost amazing bouquet that reminded me of 1989 Chateau Montrose when it was young. Sweet almost truffle-infused earth, graphite, forest floor, blackcurrant and black cherry notes are followed by a full-bodied wine with a hint of mocha and licorice. Superb purity, an incremental, yet full-bodied mouthfeel, and an extravagant, layered texture and finish make for the finest wine Robin Lail has produced to date at her winery. Drink it over the next 25-35 years.The Lail Family can trace their wine history back five generations to 1879, when their great-granduncle Gustave Niebaum founded none other than the iconic Inglenook Vineyards. Robin Lail, who is essentially the force and face of Lail Vineyards, was also a co-partner of Dominus with Christian Moueix until he purchased her interest. They produce four wines, Blue print Sauvignon Blanc, a Cabernet Sauvignon and their flagship wines, Georgia Sauvignon Blanc and J. Daniel cuvée of Cabernet Sauvignon. This winery, with winemaking consultant Philippe Melka, continues to have the Midas touch.”
2010 Grgich Hills Yountville Old Vine Cabernet Sauvignon
Sale Price $179.99“Before he moved to Calistoga Miljenko “Mike†Grgich lived on the estate where a storied vineyard grows that produces the grapes for his winery’s Yountville Selection Cabernet Sauvignon, a vertical collection of which was showcased to a group of wine writers late last month. “It is the second oldest cab vineyard in Napa Valley,†said Violet Grgich, vice president of sales and marketing for Grgich Hills Estate. The oldest vines, planted in 1945, now belong to Scarecrow and are of the same Inglenook clone as the Grgich vines, and also planted on St. George rootstock like Grgich’s vines. Grgich Hills Estates’ Yountville vineyard, planted in 1959, has “loose clusters†so that “every berry can get sunlight,†said Mike Grgich, Violet’s father.”
2012 Beaulieu Cabernet Sauvignon Private Res. Georges de Latour
R. Parker’s Wine Advocate Rated 94 Points
Sale Price $134.99“The deep ruby/purple-colored 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve Georges de Latour is BV’s flagship wine. It boasts sweet notes of charcoal, burning embers, vanillin, tar and copious quantities of blackcurrant fruit. In keeping with this generously endowed vintage, the wine is supple, full-bodied, multidimensional and opulent. It will drink beautifully young and last for 20-25 years.There is no question that Beaulieu Vineyards, an iconic estate in Rutherford that made so many great Cabernet Sauvignons in the fifties, sixties and early seventies, is returning to form. A lot of the credit must go to the brilliant international wine consultant, Michel Rolland, who works primarily on the Private Reserve program. The current group of 2012s showcase that beautiful vintage very nicely.”
2011 Dunn Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Antonio Galloni Rated 92 Points
Sale Price $64.99“The 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley is one of the most open, young Dunn Cabernets I have ever tasted. Sweet red berries, cinnamon, wild flowers, cedar and tobacco are all laced together in a supple, racy Cabernet that is already drinking well. The 2011 is quite delicate today, almost uncharacteristically so. Once again, the Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon was made entirely from Howell Mountain fruit. Randy Dunn’s 2011s are surprisingly open, supple and expressive at this stage. Dunn describes 2011 as a year in which the spring frost took with it a considerable amount of the crop. Even though yields are low, the 2011s speak much more to finesse than power. This is a rare vintage that holds considerable early and medium-term appeal, which as Dunn fans know, is a bit unusual for this typically tannic, structured Cabernets.The cool 2010 and 2011 vintages often get lumped together, but really they were quite different. Late spring rains delayed veraison and a mild summer and early October rains meant that growers needed to be extremely vigilant. At Dunn, it was the latest and fastest harvest in their history, starting October 29th and finishing in just five days. The 2011 is made entirely from softer lots of Howell Mountain fruit. Winemaker notes: “Our 2011s have subtle notes of vanilla and smoke, intertwined with black fruit characterisitics. Their chewy tannins and long finish will not disappoint our Dunn wine lovers.”
2009 Dominus Napa Valley Bordeaux Blend
J. Suckling Rated 100 Points | R. Parker’s Wine Advocate Rated 97 Points
Sale Price $199.99“Stunning nose of lavender and flowers. Currants and raspberries. Subtle and intriguing. Full and dense but wonderfully balanced with firm and silky tannins and a persistent finish. Dusty texture. A wine so balanced that you want to drink it already. Better in 2017.” – J. Suckling”The 2009 Dominus saw about
40% new oak compared to the 20% for Napanook. A seamless classic, it offers a symphony of red and black currants, Asian plum sauce, lavender, and underbrush. Sweet Christmas fruitcake characteristics emerge from this magnificent Dominus that finished at 14.5% natural alcohol (slightly higher than usual). The seamless integration of acidity, tannin, wood and alcohol, the brilliant length and overall compelling complexity and richness make it one of the great classics from this historic estate. It should drink well for 20-25 years.” – R. Parker
Dominus, Napa Valley 2012
Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate 99 pointsFlirting with perfection, the 2012 Dominus is composed of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc. Five thousand cases were produced, a relatively modest amount from this large vineyard’s big crop. Christian Moueix told me that there was plenty of heat in 2012, but there were no excessive hot spells that can plague Napa Valley vintners during the growing season and harvest. This wine’s opaque plum/purple color is accompanied by a beautiful nose of sweet crème de cassis, a touch of background oak (only 40% new oak is used), spice box, cedarwood, black cherries and a hint of spring flowers. The complex, intense aromatics are followed by a deep, opulent, multidimensional, full-bodied wine with not a hard edge to be found. Everything is seamlessly crafted in this beauty and the vintage’s abundant richness is well-displayed. This 2012 can be drunk in its exuberant youthfulness or cellared for another 20-25 years.

The California outpost of Pomerol and St.-Emilion’s famed proprietor, Christian Moueix has been working at this iconic vineyard, Yountville’s Napanook, for over twenty years. Many decades ago this was the origin of some of the great Inglenook Cabernet Sauvignons. 

The 2012 and 2013 vintages were two of the greatest for Christian Moueix at Dominus in his long and distinguished career. Think of these as more modern day versions of the 1991 and 1994, two extraordinary early vintages at Dominus. Christian Moueix considers 2013 to be the greatest vintage of his illustrious career. Production was tiny for this estate, with only 2,000 cases of the 2013 Napanook produced and 3,500 cases of Dominus. The harvest was extremely early, beginning on September 10 and finishing on September 26. Analytically, the 2013s have the highest levels of extract and tannins ever measured at this estate. Fermentations were easy, and lasted three weeks.
2012 Shafer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select
R. Parker’s Wine Advocate Rated 98-100
$239.99
only 1 six bottle case available
“The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is not in bottle, but it looks like another three-digit wine in the making. It tips the scales at a lofty 15.3% natural alcohol, but tasters will never feel any “heat†tasting it. This is a beauty, with crème de cassis notes intermixed with spring flowers, a touch of toasty oak, blackberries, blueberries and cassis, as well as licorice, vanillin and a full-bodied mouthfeel. At this stage, it is more voluptuous and opulent than the 2010, simply because that’s the hallmark style of the 2012. No doubt this is a 30- to 50-year wine if you want to cellar it properly and nibble on it over a long period of time, but it will be much more approachable in its youth than most Hillside Selects tend to be. This is, once again, a fabulous effort.Shafer’s Hillside Estate Vineyard consists of 54 acres all on steep, amphitheater-like, rocky outcroppings and knolls. It receives the full benefit of southeasterly sunlight, and enjoys the afternoon breezes that blow up from the San Francisco Bay channel. An unusual geographic feature, this vineyard is basically a box canyon. The top soil is virtually non-existent as the bed roots that go into the white tofu volcanic soil base rarely extend more than 18 inches before hitting bedrock. This no doubt is a significant reason for the intense flavors achieved by the Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon, and why it is able to spend 32 months in 100% new French oak without a woody taste.”

 

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