772 | Wine | Napa Valley, Oakville

"All of the Cabernet Sauvignon is from our Reserve Block here at the Estate. The 2009 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon shows the intrinsic black stone fruit nuances and the soft tannin structure that define our Oakville, Napa Valley-floor Cabernet. The Reserve Cabernet gets every ounce of special care a winery can devote to its flagship wine."

"Bright ruby-red. High-pitched aromas of cassis, blackberry, licorice pastille and violet. Round, suave and lush but with lovely inner-mouth lift to the cassis and chocolate flavors. Serious depth here, and quite ripe for 2010. Finishes seamless, subtle and long, with suave, chocolatey tannins. This youthfully medicinal blend seems built for a graceful evolution in bottle."

"Complex nose offers plum, black cherry, graphite, flowers, menthol and cedary oak. Nicely fleshy but not at all muscular, with a juicy, penetrating character to the cassis, licorice, cedar and spice flavors. An elegantly styled cabernet with firm but smooth tannins, from a vintage that winemaker Genevieve Janssens describes as "cold.""

"A rough and tumble effort for now, but should smooth out, mixing rich dried currant and dark berry with potent loamy earth, dried herb, sage and cedar. Ends with fine detail."