Cabernet Sauvignon
Napa Valley Reserve 2009
Vintage
2009 proved to be a mild, relatively cool growing season. Without much frost nor many heat spikes, the lack of rain (2/3 of normal for the third consecutive year) did not present any challenges. Overall, the vintage provided extended hang time for the grapes without excessive ripeness, leading to forward, bright fruit with mature flavors and tannins.
Vineyards
Well-established hillside vineyards (Rutherford, Oakville) are the foundation of this wine, giving the finished blend its intense inner core of fruit.
Vinification
The grapes were hand picked at optimum ripeness. Following destemming, the grapes were stainless steelfermented and received extended skin contact before being transferred to barrels. The wine was aged in small French oak barrels for 30 months (100% new barrels) where the wine completed malolactic fermentation. The wine was racked prior to bottling.
Tasting Notes
With its Bordeaux-like presence, this wine is deep, rich, and lingering. Firm, integrated tannins frame the concentrated, dark fruit (currant, black cherry, wild berry, plum.) Toasty oak and an earthy edge add to the wine’s great complexity.
Ratings & Reviews
94 points - 2005 Vintage
"Smooth and juicy with ripe plum and black raspberry fruit; dense and generous, seamless with lovely balance and expansive length; bright and classic."
- Anthony Dias Blue, Tasting Panel, January - February 2011 Download PDF
91 points - 2005 Vintage
Featured in "Year's Best" issue
"Philip Zorn purchases fruit for this reserve from hillside growers from Oakville and Rutherford (65 percent), the balance coming from Diamond Mountain and Truchard's vineyard in Carneros. The blend produces a wine with intensity and pungent, forest floor scents. The fruit is juicy and rich, the tannins contrasting it's sweetness with the savor of olives and plum skin. Luscious and tense with minerality, this is ready to drink with braised lamb."
- Wine & Spirits, February 2011 Download PDF
91 points - 2004 Vintage
"Shows a marked improvement over any Cab Waterstone has produced, a rich, layered wine that should improve in the cellar. Bone dry and thick in tannins, it shows deep flavors of black currants, baker's chocolate and herbs. Decant for a few hours if you're drinking it now, or stash through 2012."
- Wine Enthusiast, Buyers Guide, November 2008 Download PDF
Technical Data:
• Varietal Composition: 97% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Petit Verdot, 1% Cabernet Franc
• Appellation: Napa Valley
• Alcohol: 15.3%
• TA: 0.61 g/100ml
• pH: 3.92
• Oak Aging: 30 months
• Oak Cooperage French oak, 100% new
• Production: 1012 cases
• Bottling Date: July 9, 2012
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