Napa Valley, California, United StatesIt's cabernet sauvignon on the label, but a Bordeaux blend in spirit. It takes full advantage of California's ability to blend in a healthy dollop of other grapes into a single varietal wine, with merlot (16%), malbec (4%), petit verdot (3%), and cabernet franc (1%). It also blends valley floor and mountain fruit from five vineyards, to produce a wine led by cassis and backed by an appealing savouriness with graphite, mint, and a touch of developing cedar. The vanilla-tinged oak is present but balanced (35% new French oak), leading to a medium-full bodied palate that's linear in texture with firm tannins. Just starting to enter prime time, this is true both to Napa and the estate's house style.Tasted: 27 March 2021Tasted by: Prices:
Napa Valley, California, United StatesFreemark Abbey is enjoying a renaissance under the Jackson Family Wines banner, and there is plenty of wine made under the Napa label, now at 24,000+ cases. Don’t let the production scare you. It is a reserve style red and it is fresh and vibrant with everything you want in a 2016 cabernet sauvignon. The blend is a tour of Napa soils, including valley floor well-drained loam and clay; western mountaintop soils shallow and acidic with low fertility; and eastern mountaintop soils that are volcanic based, with poor fertility and incredible minerality. Look for intense, spicy, fresh, juicy boysenberry and bing cherry with milk chocolate, cedar, and garrigue. There is plenty of life here, and there is no rush to drink this wine. The 2016 composition is 75.8% cabernet sauvignon, 16.2% merlot, 4% malbec, 3% petit verdot, 1% cabernet franc.Tasted: 20 December 2019Tasted by: Prices:
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