2014 Rombauer Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

Inky now, this Cabernet will benefit from bottle age

2014 Rombauer Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

This assemblage was grown along the length of Napa Valley, in the sub-AVAs of Stags Leap, Atlas Peak, Mount Veeder, St. Helena, Calistoga, and Rutherford. The fruit is 79 percent Cabernet Sauvignon blended with Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot. It was de-stemmed and optically sorted, then fermented in a mix of stainless tank and barrel and basket-pressed to French oak, 70 percent new, where it underwent malolactic plus 17 months of aging.

The result is a saturated blue-purple and sports a ruby rim. It’s fragrant of blue fruits, especially black plums and blueberries, it also has an earthy mocha undertone plus the piney top note of cedar and crushed juniper. The palate offers more inky blue fruits, especially blueberry skin, and cocoa-y black brambles carried on finely articulated tannins. A whiff of smoke drifts through at the finish.

Well structured, with good fruit, but a couple of years of bottle age will be advantageous. Pair it now with braised, slow-roasted, and grilled red meats, or earthy, herb-inflected vegetable and mushroom dishes.


14.5% abv | $55 (sample)

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