Tasting Notes
Vinous 88
The 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon J. Daniel Cuvee is a deep, savory wine. Dried leaves, tobacco, dried fruit, earthiness and sweet oak are all suggestive of a wine that is fully mature. Any remaining bottles need to be finished. The shortcomings of the vintage are impossible to escape. Quite frankly, I expected the 2011 would age better than it has. Vineyard sites are Heimark, Vine Hill Ranch and Mole Hill.
Anticipated maturity: 2021-2021
Robert Parker 89
Made in a much lighter style, the 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon J. Daniel Cuvee is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon aged 18 months in French oak. It offers up notes of cedarwood, tobacco leaf, underbrush and red and black currants. Medium-bodied with soft tannin and low acidity, it will need to be drunk over the next 7-8 years. One of my favorite small wineries in Napa Valley, Lail Vineyards produces the most singular and distinctive Sauvignon Blanc in Napa. Although it’s expensive, it is a delicious Sauvignon modeled after a great white Graves, and is meant for long-term cellaring. In most vintages, around 300 cases are produced. Lail’s less expensive Cabernet Sauvignon, Blueprint, comes from four to six different appellations, ranging from the cooler Yountville and Coombsville areas in southern Napa Valley, to mountain vineyards such as Howell Mountain and further north to the warmest region of Napa Valley, Calistoga. The wine spends 18 months in French oak, of which about half is new. Tel. (707) 968-9900
Anticipated maturity: 2013-2021
