Abeja Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley 2016

DuMOL Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 100 percent Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Winemaker’s Notes:

Our 2016 Napa Valley Cabernet is a classically built wine typical of this wonderful Napa vintage: deep fruit, enveloping texture, mineral freshness and long supple structure. It’s a harmonious interweaving of four distinct vineyards that intricately balances power and finesse.

With its exceptional farming and rocky volcanic soil, Meteor Vineyard is one of the finest sites in Coombsville. Its fruit dominates the blend and ensures both intensity and delicacy, with soaring aromatics followed by succulent dark fruit. 

True Dog Knoll serves as a new focal point in this vintage, its world-renowned west Oakville deep gravel soils bringing deep texture and mineral focus. 

Layering in a small amount of Petit Verdot from our Roach Estate in St. Helena provides an element of blue fruit and refinement that balances beautifully with the darker brooding power of Ballard Vineyard’s mountaintop muscle and structure.

With its harmonious layers and textures, this wine reminds me of the 2012 Napa Valley vintage. Dark, inky and opaque, it presents aromas of plum, violets and graphite. Beautiful fruit cascades almost immediately to more savory flavors: crushed rock dustiness, cocoa and cedar. A good, firm mineral spine runs through to the long, bittersweet finish. Ever-evolving in the glass, this wine is poised now and will age beautifully over the next 10+ years.

Review:

A ripe, friendly style, with a creamy-textured core of cassis and cherry preserve flavors underscored by anise and apple wood notes that stay nicely

melded with the fruit on the finish. There’s a lingering cast iron note keeping this grounded.

-Wine Spectator 93 Points

Lady Hill Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley is made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon.

Intense hues range from wine purple to sangria showcasing Cabernet Sauvignon’s genetic predisposition to tiny berries packed with color making molecules called anthocyanidins. Chocolate covered cherry and subtle blackberry liqueur combine New World fruit flavors with savory olive tapenade, dried herb de provence and a tinge of minerality found in ancient volcanic soils. The subtle wood impact of 10% new and once filled barrels keeps the focus on fruit and spice, while maintaining the characteristic dusty tannins and lingering finish that Cabernet Sauvignon has become famous for.

Pair with pan roasted veal chops, grilled veggie pizza or a can of Cougar Gold Cheddar.

Dark an brooding in the glass, our 2019 Hommage Cabernet Sauvignon is bursting with ripe plums, black cherries and notes of cassis. On the palate the black fruits linger and mix with a hint of crushed cassia bark and toasted oak and are surrounded by strong, balanced tannins and notes of espresso and dark chocolate. This wine is bold and sensuous with a silky texture and lengthy finish.

Our Tenma Vineyard is located in the foothills of Mount St. Helena northeast of the town of Calistoga. These 40 acres of rugged land are part of an alluvial fan spilling out from the Palisades Mountains in the northeast corner of the Napa Valley. The rocky terrain here is well-drained with a very sparse topsoil which is a perfect combination for growing world-class Cabernet Sauvignon when combined with the climate of Napa Valley. The low grape yields of these old vines result in highly concentrated wines with an elegance and complexity rarely seen, even within the famous Napa Valley. These grapes have proven to be a worthy backbone for our flagship Hommage Cabernet Sauvignon and are the reason that wine has become the pinnacle of Clos Pegase.

To craft a Flagship wine, highlighting our top Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards blocks and world class winemaking to craft a wine of balance, complexity and character.

Review:

The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Hommage is deep purple-black colored and reveals notes of crème de cassis, stewed plums and fruitcake with touches of licorice, Chinese five spice and hoisin with a waft of cedar chest. Full-bodied, opulent and boldly fruited with loads of berry preserves layers, it has a chewy backbone and earthy accents on the finish.

-Wine Advocate 92 Points

Morlet Family Vineyards Coeur De Vallee Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 75% Cabernet Sauvignon & 25% Cabernet Franc.

Propietary Name Cœur de Vallée

Name Meaning Heart of the Valley 

Type of wine Vineyard designated

Appellation Oakville, Napa Valley

Vineyard singularity Morlet Family ‘Cœur de Vallée’ Vineyard Bale soils, loamy topsoil on loamy & clay-loamy subsoils

Typical harvest date October Picking Manual, small lugs, refer truck

Sorting Cluster by cluster, berry per berry Fermentation Through native yeast. Punch downs Tank and Puncheons

Upbringing 16 months French oak from artisan coopers Bottling Unfiltered

Cellaring time 10+ years Serving Room temperature Decanting recommended

Winemaker notes:

Located in the world-renowned Oakville appellation, in the heart of the Napa Valley, our Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc vines benefit from the gravelly and loamy Bale soil derived from an alluvial fan in this warm yet temperate climate. Handcrafted using classical winemaking techniques, this wine is dedicated to Dr. Richard Johnson and Dr. Nancy Hampel who have always demonstrated their kindness of heart. It is ‘Heart of the Valley’ or ‘Cœur de Vallée.’

Deep garnet-purple in color, the ‘Cœur de Vallée’ is characterized by a striking bouquet of lavender and violets over a core of sweet red berries, crème de cassis, Chambord liqueur, blackcurrants and licorice, and com­pelling notes of mocha, espresso, chocolate and forest floor. Medium to full-bodied with an impressive fine-grained texture, this powerful yet refined Cabernet Sauvignon is expressive from start to finish, boasting a background freshness that supports the intense black fruit layers. The wine displays an extraordinary concentration, richness, fi­nesse and purity while possessing silky and polished tan­nins leading to an elegant lift on the long, lush finish. Featuring the interaction of the clayish yet well-draining gravelly volcanic soil, the site’s microclimates and the low-interventionistic Morlet winemaking approach, the stunning ‘Cœur de Vallée’ ages gracefully for decades.

Review:

The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Coeur de Vallée comes all from Beckstoffer’s portion of the To Kalon Vineyard and it’s a thrill a minute, offering awesome notes of blue fruits, chocolate, incense, candied violets, and high-class cigar tobacco. As seamless and elegant as they come, yet also opulent and sexy, this remarkable Cabernet Sauvignon could come from nowhere else in the world. Drink it over the coming 2-3 decades.

-Jeb Dunnuck 97 Points

This is the last vintage when this wine will come exclusively from Beckstoffer’s To Kalon vineyard. In the future it will come (more and more) from Morlet’s own new vineyard in Oakville—just across from To Kalon. A blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon and 13% Cabernet Franc, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Coeur de Vallee has a very deep purple-black color and reveals compelling notes of minted blackcurrants, black cherries and wild blueberries with touches of sage, cigar box, tilled black soil and Indian spices with a suggestion of cardamom. Full-bodied and laden with densely packed, muscular fruit, it has a rock-solid frame of ripe, grainy tannins and seamless freshness, finishing very long with those To Kalon spices lingering with fantastic persistence. 250 cases produced, to be released in the fall of 2019.

-Wine Advocate 97 Points

Morlet Family Vineyards Mon Chevalier Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Cabernet Franc, 1% Malbec and 1% Petit Verdot .

Located on the hillsides of Knights Valley, near Calistoga, this vineyard benefits from its proximity to Mount St. Helena, whose warm and windy climate is ideal for the long ripening of the Bordeaux red varietals. Handcrafted by using classical winemaking techniques, this special wine is dedicated to our son, Paul Morlet.

Dark red with a hue of purple. Intense and complex bouquet of red, black and blue berries intermixed with notes of blueberries, minerals (graphite, wet river rocks) licorice, fresh blond tobacco and a hint of lavender. Full bodied, the palate is reminiscent of the nose, with a richly tannic yet round frame and a great intensity. The hillside tannins and the classical aromatic complexity create a harmonious ensemble, leading to a very long and elegant finish. Built to age for decades, this collectible wine opens up after a few years of cellaring and is particularly representative of this special vineyard from the hillside of Knights Valley. Mon Chevalier features the interaction of the loamy, well drained and rocky volcanic soil, the typical sunny mountain climate and the low-interventionistic Morlet winemaking approach.

Propietary Name Mon Chevalier

Name Meaning My Knight Named after our son, Paul Morlet

Type of wine Vineyard designated

Appellation Knights Valley

Vineyard singularity Morlet Family Estate Hillside 1100-1200 feet elevation Rhyolitic, loam & volcanic ash

Typical harvest date End of October

Picking Manual, small lugs, refer truck

Sorting Cluster by cluster, berry per berry

Fermentation Through native yeast Tank and Puncheons

Upbringing 16 months French oak from artisan coopers

Bottling Unfiltered

Cellaring time Decades

Serving Room temperature

Decanting recommended

Review: 

 
The estate-grown 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Mon Chevalier is a blend of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Cabernet Franc, 1% Malbec and 1% Petit Verdot. Very deep purple-black in color, it charges forth with intense notes of crushed black cherries, black berry preserves and cassis scents with touches of spearmint, Indian spices, espresso and dried lavender plus a waft of roses. Full-bodied, the palate reveals incredible restraint, slowly revealing earth and black fruit layers framed by firm, grainy tannins and just enough freshness, finishing very long and spicy.

-Wine Advocate 96+ Points

Moving to the top releases, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Mon Chevalier comes from Knights Valley and was brought up in puncheons. A gorgeous bouquet of sandalwood, violets, loamy earth, and incense as well as some iron-laced black and blue fruits flow to a rounded, supple, incredibly textured Cabernet that has sweet tannins, a stacked mid-palate, and a great finish. It’s already terrific yet will keep for 20-25 years or more.

-Jeb Dunnuck 96 Points

The Grade Napa Cabernet Sauvignon Winfield Vineyard is made from Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.

“2016 produced wines that are very giving, round, coating and streamlined. Year after this year, this bottling aims to highlight the best attributes of the Winfield Vineyard, and also creates a wine that possesses qualities that allow it to age well in the cellar and evolve over many years.

“This wine expresses a focused balancing act of dark, rich black fruit, and a fine tannin structure, illuminated through the core with a laser-like acidity. The wine displays a deep purple-red hue with a cranberry halo. Aromas of cassis, cinnamon, citrus oil, roasted meat, and lilac swell from the glass.

“The palate is marked by a wave of jet-black brambly fruit up front, followed by an exotic spice mid-palate and a long, complex finish that lasts and lasts expressing notes of flowering jasmine, and oolong tea. The silky tannins hold everything together and will certainly allow this wine to evolve in the cellar for at least 7-10 years.”  - Thomas River Brown

Review:

Coming from the Winfield Vineyard in Calistoga, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon is another brilliant wine from the hands of winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown. This deep purple-colored effort boasts tons of blueberry and jammy blackberry fruits as well a medium to full-bodied, concentrated, yet elegant style on the palate. It has the purity of fruit that’s the hallmark of the vintage, ripe, sweet tannins, and no hard edges, and is already hard to resist.

-Jeb Dunnuck 94 Points