Cathiard Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2020
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James
Suckling -
Wine
Enthusiast - Decanter
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Robert
Parker
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
On the nose the purity of Cabernet Sauvignon fruit not hiding behind the oak regime, along with Valrhona chocolate, tobacco and spice. The mouthfeel is dense but delicate. Lots of energy but combined with finesse. Silky texture all throughout a long finish. Tannins are remarkably integrated. Unmistakably Napa Cab, but with a significant elegance/ethereal factor that makes it extremely drinkable.
Blend: 95% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Wonderful aromas of blackcurrants, dark plums, mint, sage, and dried wood. Some sandalwood. Full- to medium-bodied with tannins that have the texture of fine velvet and run down the length of the wine. Extremely polished and refined. Sophisticated. Firm at the end. This will age beautifully. Pure cabernet sauvignon. Best after 2026.
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Wine Enthusiast
Extraordinary and opulent, this densely concentrated, luxuriously textured flagship Napa wine by Florence and Daniel Cathiard of Bordeaux is their first vintage from the former Flora Springs property. The wine is softly saturated with black currants, blueberries, spearmint and black olives for a comforting, mouthfilling expression that is at once powerful and gentle. It feels layered, deep and creamy.
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Decanter
Ripe and juicy blue fruit aromas on the nose with some soft wood spice, acaia, liquorice, a touch of California heat in the aromas but smells fresh and inviting. Clean, supple, lively, pure and focussed on the palate. Tannins take the fore, really quite mouthfilling with ash, smoke, tar, tobacco edges, leather and some meat, underpinning the blackcurrant, black cherry and blueberry fruit. Still quite tense, focused in the centre, driving from start to finish in one line, despite the slight weight and nice density of the tannins. A very soft vanilla sweetness is also apparent. It's both potent and poised, perfumed and pure. You can't get away from the liquorice and tar undercurrent that really marks the wine. Dark, savoury, brooding, a really complete wine. Lots of personality and manages the combination of having both Bordeaux and Napa sparkle. A delicious first vintage from the new Napa estate owned by Florence and Daniel Cathiard of Smith Haut Lafitte. Directors Justine Labbé and Fabien Teigen, consultants Michel Rolland and Frederick Ammons.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
There are 9,000 bottles of the flagship 2020 Cathiard Vineyard Proprietary Red, a sturdy blend of 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc. Marked by scents of black cherries, cassis and cedar, this debut is medium to full-bodied and nicely proportioned but also a bit astringent and drying, in need of time to come together. Finishing with savory elements of mocha, earth and black olives, this wine offers a promising juxtaposition of California fruit with Bordelais sensibilities regarding structure and aging.
In January 2020, Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte owners Florence and Daniel Cathiard took the leap of faith and made their first foray outside of France: Cathiard Vineyard. Anyone who has visited Napa Valley is likely to have driven along Zinfandel Lane. Driving West up towards the foothills of the Mayacamas, things get quiet pretty fast and the views get more stunning. Climbing into the hillsides, the very last property on this section of the road is Cathiard Vineyard.
The estate includes around 250 acres of land, 58 of which planted to vine, the rest is pure nature of woods, lakes and clearings, home to majestic mountain lions. The partly sloped vineyard extends up to an altitude of 1000 feet and includes mature and young vines. The vineyards are broken down into 14 blocks, some of them on the St Helena alluvial fan, the rest on the steep Rutherford hillside slopes.
Today the winery produces three red wines, all estate fruit and organically farmed. The ridiculously low yields and minimal intervention in the cellar guarantee a strong sense of place. The focus is directed towards finesse, elegance and drinkability.
One of the most prestigious wines of the world capable of great power and grace, Napa Valley Cabernet is a leading force in the world of fine, famous, collectible red wine. Today the Napa Valley and Cabernet Sauvignon are so intrinsically linked that it is difficult to discuss one without the other. But it wasn’t until the 1970s that this marriage came to light; sudden international recognition rained upon Napa with the victory of the Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon in the 1976 Judgement of Paris.
Cabernet Sauvignon undoubtedly dominates Napa Valley today, covering half of the land under vine, commanding the highest prices per ton and earning the most critical acclaim. Cabernet Sauvignon’s structure, acidity, capacity to thrive in multiple environs and ability to express nuances of vintage make it perfect for Napa Valley where incredible soil and geographical diversity are found and the climate is perfect for grape growing. Within the Napa Valley lie many smaller sub-AVAs that express specific characteristics based on situation, slope and soil—as a perfect example, Rutherford’s famous dust or Stags Leap District's tart cherry flavors.