Reviews

Expressive, spicy and silky, with berry and cherry fruit wrapped in toasty, vanilla-tinged oak. Firm yet elegant, with a layer of dusty tannins; however, the lasting impression is ripe fruit and an underlying mineral element. Just needs tiem. Best from 2026 through 2045. 

Double Gold

The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Generations is one of the flagship releases and comes from three vineyards, two in St. Helena and one in Oakville. It’s 100% Cabernet and was raised in 59% new French oak. This richly textured, full-bodied, ripe, perfectly balanced 2019 gives up lots of darker currant fruits and notes of spice and green tobacco, with background oak and ultra-fine tannins. The balance is spot on, and this is another beautiful, layered, compelling Cabernet Sauvignon from winemaker Stephanie Putnam.

I loved the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon District Collection St. Helena, and this is such a sweet spot for world class Cabernet in the valley. Beautiful cassis and currant fruits, textbook tobacco, spice, and lead pencil aromatics, medium to full-bodied richness, and ultra-fine tannins all define this beauty, and while it’s already hard to resist, I see no reason it shouldn’t evolve for two decades. The balance, as well as the tannins, are spot on.

The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon District Collection Oakville comes from the east of the valley and two separate blocks in the vineyard. It spent 19 months in 41% new French oak. Lots of tobacco, lead pencil, and both cassis and assorted currant-like fruits define the bouquet, and it’s ripe, balanced, and mouth-filling, with velvety tannins. It’s already hard to resist, but it unquestionably has 15+ years of longevity ahead of it. This is classic Oakville goodness.

The 2019 Knockout is, indeed, a knockout and if you’re craving sexy Napa Valley fruit and opulence, it won’t get much better. A blend of 63% Petite Sirah and 37% Cabernet Sauvignon, this full-bodied beast of a wine offers loads of darker fruits, violets, graphite, and leafy herb aromas and flavors. It has a stacked mid-palate, sweet tannins, and like all the wines from winemaker Stephanie Putnam, brings richness with no sensation of weight or heaviness. Drink it over the coming decade.

A brilliant value based on 94% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Cabernet Franc, the 2019 Enrapture has a balanced, full-bodied, structured, almost Mountain fruit-like character as well as darker, herbal, mineral, and chocolaty aromas and flavors. It’s unquestionably one of the top Napa Valley Cabernets out there at the price.

The inky hued 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Phi comes from a blend of two vineyards and is aged exclusively in a unique, elongated “Phi” barrel, 67% being new. Cassis, blackcurrants, graphite, and gravelly earth are just some of the nuances, and this full-bodied beauty is flawlessly balanced, has incredible tannins, and that rare mix of richness and elegance. It’s beautifully done. It needs a good 4-5 years of bottle age and should age spectacularly well for 25+ years.

Per the always charming Jean-Charles, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon JCB #10 is made to be 10 times as big, and while the #1 release is a seamless, finesse-driven wine, this is more opulent and hedonistic, with an awesome bouquet of black fruits, smoked tobacco, graphite, and lead pencil nuances. It’s a monster of a wine, yet somehow stays beautifully balanced, light on its feet, pure, and graceful. It’s another beautiful wine in the lineup that will deliver the goods over the coming two decades or more.

The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon JCB #1 is all St. Helena fruit, and the idea with this cuvée is to create a classic, balanced, elegant expression of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. I’m happy to say they’ve succeeded admirably. This deep purple-hued 2019 gives up lots of cassis fruits, subtle background oak, full-bodied richness, and textbook, complex notes of chalky minerality, toasted spices and Pauillac-like lead pencil shavings. It will cruise for 20-25 years in cold cellars.