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Vintages - Cab-ifornia

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Feature Story

To taste the best wines from the finest regions is to excite the imagination, transcending logic, awakening emotions and inspiring our senses as few other passions can. Rich, complex California Cabernet Sauvignon, with its elevated notes of cassis, dark fruit, earth, cedar and mocha, is one such wine. Emerging as a true contender on the world stage in the early 1970s, Cabernet played a lead role in California’s shocking usurpation of France’s position as the world’s pre-eminent wine nation at the 1976 Judgment of Paris.

Napa and Sonoma may be home to California’s most sought-after and world-famous expressions, but Cabernet shines across the state in a variety of styles and at a range of price points. Read on and discover some of the basics about one of the most popular and important wine styles in the world, and meet three producers whose efforts are ensuring the region’s continued longevity.


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Napa

"...inspires for the sheer quality of the wines that emanate from this small sliver of American paradise." Joe Czerwinski, robertparker.com, May 31, 2022

Napa Valley is one of the world’s most exciting wine regions. Visually stunning, it encompasses all things premium, from boutique and cult wineries to a world-class reputation for artisanal dining. Though small, Napa possesses a healthy mixture of soil types including volcanic, loamy-clays and Cabernet-loving gravel. The valley’s fog-cooled, sun-kissed vineyards produce a rich selection of iconic and trophy wines that command serious attention from connoisseurs and casual wine fans alike, but the king of Napa is unquestionably Cabernet Sauvignon. Depending on where in the valley it’s grown, Napa Cabernet can be powerful or elegant, but it always reveals ripe fruit, with a purity of Cabernet’s benchmark cassis flavour that’s the envy of every Cabernet producer in the rest of the wine world.


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Sonoma

"Sonoma remains an extraordinary region to explore for its breathtaking diversity of micro-regions, sites and wines." Antonio Galloni, vinous.com, Jan. 14, 2021

Sonoma is where California’s tradition of fine-wine production began. But in keeping with its laid-back feel, its Cabernets carry a lighter price tag than their Napa counterparts, offering exceptional value even among the premium tiers. Sonoma is a complex tapestry of rolling hills, benchlands, forests and valleys extending from the Pacific Ocean to the Mayacamas Mountains. Though larger in size than Napa, it’s home to fewer wineries (425 to Napa’s 450). This sense of space contributes to the region’s relaxed character. With more soil types than France, these dramatically varied landscapes and mesoclimates allow for an astonishing range of top-quality wines to be produced, including concentrated, structured, ageable Cabernet Sauvignon.


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Monterey and "California"

"California boasts climatic conditions that are ideal for the cultivation of grapes and the production of high-quality wines.”  Antonio Galloni, vinous.com, Jan. 20, 2022

Monterey is famous for cool-climate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, but the region includes warmer areas perfect for Bordeaux varieties. Monterey Cabernet is structured and full-flavoured, with superb balance and freshness. Many top-flight wines, such as Unshackled, are blends of fruit from prime sites in different California AVAs and so must say “California” on the label rather than a specific regional designation. Such blends allow winemakers to take full advantage of California’s exciting range of nuanced, expressive Cabernet fruit.


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