93-96

Stephen Tanzer

Vinous

(76% cabernet sauvignon, 20% cabernet franc and 4% petit verdot): Saturated bright ruby. Lovely perfumed aromas of blueberry, dark chocolate, licorice and menthol. A superconcentrated fruit bomb in the mouth, boasting extremely primary, fresh flavors of black and blue fruits, coffee and menthol. Wonderfully silky and floral, with harmonious acidity and nicely buffered tannins giving this blend the balance for a graceful evolution in bottle. The estate is now using green shade cloth to protect the fruit from the hottest sun, noted winemaker Jason Exposto, "so we can pick when we want to, without dimpling of the fruit. We like turgid, fresh grapes." These two highly successful wines avoid the roasted fruit character of some past vintages here.

99

Robert M. Parker, Jr.

Robert Parker/Wine Advocate

The original wine from the Oakville Estate Vineyard is a relatively small cuvée of 546 cases. The 2012 Proprietary Red Estate is a blend of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot. This is a drop-dead beautiful wine with an absolutely extraordinary nose of white flowers, blueberries, blackcurrants, licorice and camphor. Stunning forest floor notes also make an appearance in this ripe, full-bodied, opulent wine that is begging to be given a three-digit score. The silkiness of the tannins and the stunning purity of fruit of this unfined and unfiltered wine is simply breathtaking. This is just an incredible effort to drink now or over the next 30+ years. This is a small but magnificent estate on the lower hillsides of the Oakville corridor in the Mayacamas Mountains just below Bill Harlan’s estate and the Bond Winery. The original wines that came from their Oakville estate have been supplemented by grapes from another estate in Stags Leap, and some blends were put together at a less-expensive price point, one called He-Li-An-Thus and a Stags Leap/Oakville blend called OVSL. The quality of these wines is truly world-class, and what proprietor Tom Futo has done with extraordinary success has been to use a relatively significant percentage of Cabernet Franc with his Oakville blend, while the Stags Leap relies primarily on Cabernet Sauvignon.