Silverado Vineyards Geo Cabernet Sauvignon 2017

Silverado Vineyards Solo Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon. 

This bold Cabernet starts off with hints of cinnamon and nutmeg on the nose. Intense fruit, toasty oak, and spice lead to a velvety, long finish with mild tannins.

In 1968, Silverado’s estate vineyard became the fourth planted to Cabernet Sauvignon in the Stags Leap District, now world renowned for its Cabernet Sauvignon.

Over the next two decades, through meticulous field selection, an entirely new clone of Cabernet Sauvignon emerged here. The vines had adapted to Silverado Vineyard’s steep, shale soils to produce fruit with the character and structure for which the Stags Leap District came to be known.

The University of California, Davis acknowledged this unique vine with a ‘Heritage’ designation. It is one of only three Cabernet Sauvignon clones to attain this status––and the only one from Stags Leap District.

Each year, we honor this extraordinary clone distinction with SOLO.

Review:

Dramatic bouquet of plum, cassis, dark chocolate and woodsmoke introduces a juicy, vibrant palate framed by elegant tannins and bright acidity. With good concentration and depth, this is a very refined Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon.

-Decanter 93 Points

Stonestreet Estate Vineyards Rockfall Cabernet Sauvignon is made from Cabernet Sauvignon.

Sourced from one of our highest elevation vineyards, the 2017 Rockfall Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon features a true wildness that expresses the rugged growing site 2,000ft above the fog line. Elegant aromas of blueberries, cassis, graphite and black tea with complex undercurrents of baking spices. This wine balances power with elegance through to its savory palate with a generous structure and ample tannins. The structure of this wine allows for many years of cellar aging to continue to bring out nuanced flavors and complexity.

Review:

The Rockfall Vineyard is between 2,000 and 2,200-feet in elevation, and the wine that originates there is powerful and concentrated in style, with robust red-fruit and mineral tones. Herbal and classic, it shows elegance and integrated oak and tannin within its context of intensity and structure. Enjoy best from 2027–2037. Virginie Boone

-Wine Enthusiast 96 Points

Vinous 97 Points

Hall Wines The Kathryn Hall Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 96% Cabernet, 4% Merlot.

The 2017 Kathryn Hall is deep, dark ruby in color and elegantly balanced with layered aromas of concentrated blackberry, freshly turned earth, and a hint of warm, spicy oak. The palate is fruit-forward with underlying notes of rich cocoa and leather. Layers of black fruit, nutmeg, cassis and brooding earthy notes are abundant. Supple, seamless tannin abounds, and the wine finishes with an incredible dark fruit feed-back that lasts several minutes.

Reviews:

The 2017 ‘Kathryn Hall’ is a stunning, seamless Cabernet Sauvignon that was sourced from a host of Napa Valley vineyards including their estate Sacrashe Vineyard. Mocha, creosote and blueberry compote tones combine with suggestions of sweet pipe tobacco on the nose. The wine has a gorgeous sense of elegance, as the ethereal texture effortlessly makes this glide across the mid-palate. Layers of creme de cassis, blueberry pie, tar and menthol tones all are marvelously woven together on the palate. With great length, weight and poise, this 2017 ‘Kathryn Hall’ is not only sensational to enjoy in its youth but will be one built for long-term aging."

Owen Bargreen 97 Points

A barrel sample of 96% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot, the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Kathryn Hall is opaque purple-black colored and bursts flamboyantly from the glass, revealing notes of spice cake, potpourri, Ceylon tea and incense notes over a core of black currant cordial, black forest cake and baked blackberries with a waft of dusty soil. The palate is full, rich, spicy and seductive with a velvety texture and seamless freshness, finishing long and perfumed.

-Wine Advocate 96 Points

Neyers Cabernet Sauvignon Neyers Ranch is made from 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon. 

"We harvested the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon crop from our Conn Valley Ranch in the first week of October, a week later than we picked the same vineyard the prior year. The size of the crop was about 20% smaller in 2017 as well, mostly due to the cold, wet weather we experienced in spring during flowering. Grapevines are self-pollinating, and cold, windy or damp weather interferes with this process, a problem known the French call coulure. Ironically, the harsh spring weather of 2017 had a huge impact on the size of our crop. Still, this smaller crop ripened fully and evenly, and at harvest time we picked beautiful, dark-colored clusters under near-perfect conditions. The finished wine was immediately remarkable for its flavor and complexity, and the wine looks to be one that will improve for many years. During my career in the Napa Valley wine business, I’ve learned to expect the best wines from cold years like 2017. These are vintages that are viewed initially with lowered expectations, but my experience has been just the opposite. Going back to my first Napa Valley harvest in 1971, these ‘colder years’ invariably result in wines with brighter, more attractive flavors, and the wines age longer and more gracefully.

Following harvest, the wine was fermented using wild, native yeast in an temperature-controlled stainless steel tank. After 45 days or so, the tank was drained and the pomace pressed, and the wine transferred to 60-gallon French oak barrels, 25% of them new. During the first year, we racked the wine off of the yeast lees three times, and by May 2019 it had been sufficiently clarified to bottle without fining or filtration. I am especially impressed by its bright ruby hue, a color so commanding it reminded me of the 1995 red Bordeaux wines I tasted from barrel during my trip to France in the Spring of 1996. It’s loaded with flavors that range from wild cherry to chocolate, enhanced by the lovely hint of tobacco leaf and mint. Each aromatic component has its own individual fascination, but all of them together provide a remarkable experience. Here’s a complete Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon that we expect it to improve for 20 years.  It's a from a very small crop that will provide decades of pleasure." - Bruce Neyers

Review:

Earthy, tannic and young, this wine brims in black fruit, cedar and tobacco that are accented by black olive and crushed rock. With substantial midpalate weight, it takes time to integrate, finding a cohesive conclusion on the long finish.

-Wine Enthusiast 92 Points

Passing Time Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla is made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon.

Of all the Passing Time wines, the Walla Walla Cabernet has tended to feature Cabernet exclusively. In the classic 2018, this wine features a deep blue and black fruit character, with hints of blackberry leaf, baker’s chocolate, and crushed herbs. Featuring fruit from Seven Hills and Pepper Bridge vineyards—two locales with very different characters—this wine balances the power and structure of the Pepper Bridge site, with the beautiful elegance and bouquet of the Seven Hills vineyard. The resulting blend features the tell-tale balance of Passing Time’s style while also expressing the profound depth and balance of the incredible 2018 vintage.

Review:

Coming from a mix of the Seven Hills and Pepper Bridge vineyards, the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla Valley reveals a deep purple hue as well as beautiful floral, lavender, and spice-driven aromas and flavors. With medium to full-bodied richness, ripe, silky tannins, and just terrific balance, it's another gorgeous wine from this team that can be drunk today or cellared for 15 years or more.

-Jeb Dunnuck 94 Points

"Starting with a rocky minerality that shines through on the nose, the 2017 Walla Walla Valley Cabernet Sauvignon shows a good core of red and black fruit that highlights the Pepper Bridge and Seven Hills vineyards. The dark red fruit lingers over the palate with a rocky and softly savory spiced tension, giving way to structured tannins that build on the back end of the mid-palate. The wine is focused on the well-framed finish, with blackcurrant and black raspberry jus sprinkled with a rustic and rocky tension. It's a nicely made wine that drinks well. I want a second sip. - Anthony Muller"

- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (Issue# 246, December 2019), 94 pts

"Bright ruby-red. Aromas of blue and black fruits and licorice are lifted by floral and herbal nuances. A very stylish, silky Cabernet Sauvignon with terrific inner-mouth violet lift and sexy oak tones to its fine-grained flavors of dark berries and cocoa powder. Concentrated, savory and very long; more pliant than the 2016 version owing to its nobility of tannins. Very classy juice--and showing brilliantly today. (14.7% alcohol; two-thirds from Seven Hills and one-third from a 1996 planting at Pepper Bridge) - Stephen Tanzer"

- Antonio Galloni's Vinous (December 2019), 94 pts