96pts Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon is a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Petit Verdot, 7% Malbec, 6% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc. It has a deep garnet-purple color and delivers intense, vivacious black cherries, warm blackcurrants and blackberries scents with touches of garrigue, cigar box, underbrush and lavender. Full-bodied and packed with generous flavors of crushed black berries with oodles of earthy sparks, it has a rock-solid line of grainy tannins and seamless freshness, finishing very long and savory.

94pts Wine Enthusiast - Cellar Selection

Blended with 11% Petit Verdot and small amounts of Malbec, Merlot and Cabernet Franc, this is a substantially powerful, integrated and complex red that's aged in both French and Hungarian oak. Immensely herbal, it offers seductive spice tones of clove and tobacco, with blue and red fruit lifted by underlying acidity. Enjoy from 2026–2031. 

94pts Jeb Dunnuck

The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon (75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Petit Verdot, 7% Malbec, 6% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc) is another inky colored effort and offers impressive blue fruits, cassis, graphite, and charcoal aromas and flavors. It's concentrated, stays slightly more restrained and elegant on the palate compared to the Legend cuvée, has ripe yet present tannins, and a beautiful finish. It's another serious wine from this estate.

93pts James Suckling

Gorgeous aromas of blueberries, blackberries and flowers follow through to a medium to full body, firm and silky tannins and a flavorful finish. Shows depth and finesse. Drink in 2020.

92pts Vinous

The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley) is a powerful and authoritative wine, and yet also remains light on its feet for such a big Cabernet. A rush of black cherry, plum, lavender, spice and menthol build in this decidedly powerful, virile wine from Ralph Hertelendy. Mid-weight structure makes the 2016 easy to appreciate on the young side, but there is good potential for at least medium term aging as well.

92pts Wine Spectator

This is a big, dark, steeped red, with lots of lush fig, blackberry and black currant preserve flavors rolling through. There's graphite-edged structure for spine, and a lingering Turkish coffee note on the finish, adding to the hefty profile. Best from 2021 through 2031. 562 cases made.

Winemaker's Notes

2016 was an extraordinarily epic vintage. It was the fifth consecutive outstanding vintage, and at the time of harvest, we thought it was the best of the decade. All of our fruit slowly matured and ripened, containing the proper phenolics that we strive to have every vintage. We had a decent winter, which meant that we had more irrigation water and more control of hang-time on the vines. With more hang time came more complexity and character, creating more balance in the vineyards. With a total production of 562 cases of the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon, this elegant powerhouse all hails from highly-esteemed, volcanic Napa areas such as the Pritchard Hill area, Howell Mountain, Atlas Peak, and our very own Rockwell Ridge estate vineyard (35 feet below Howell Mountain).