Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All VintagesThe 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Melanson Vineyard is one of the clear highlights in this range from Tor. Rich and creamy in the glass, the 2019 is endowed with tremendous purity of fruit matched with tannins that are unusually silky for this rugged hillside site. Nothing in particular stands out. Instead, it is the wine's stunning balance that makes the deepest impression. Time brings out gorgeous inner perfume and aromatic presence. Superb. Best After 2026
There are six barrels of the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Melanson Vineyard, a 100% varietal from a great site on Pritchard Hill, just across the valley from Colgin. Its saturated purple hue is followed by a beautiful perfume of cassis and blackberry fruits as well as tobacco, scorched earth, and graphite, with an almost Graves-like gravelly earth character emerging with time in the glass. It is rich, full-bodied, and powerful, with lots of ripe tannins, terrific overall balance, and a serious, age-worthy style that still offers pleasure even today. It's worth giving bottles 2-4 years in the cellar, and it's going to shine for over two decades. Best After 2022
One of the most prestigious wines of the world capable of great power and grace, Napa Valley Cabernet is a leading force in the world of fine, famous, collectible red wine. Today the Napa Valley and Cabernet Sauvignon are so intrinsically linked that it is difficult to discuss one without the other. But it wasn’t until the 1970s that this marriage came to light; sudden international recognition rained upon Napa with the victory of the Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon in the 1976 Judgement of Paris.
Cabernet Sauvignon undoubtedly dominates Napa Valley today, covering half of the land under vine, commanding the highest prices per ton and earning the most critical acclaim. Cabernet Sauvignon’s structure, acidity, capacity to thrive in multiple environs and ability to express nuances of vintage make it perfect for Napa Valley where incredible soil and geographical diversity are found and the climate is perfect for grape growing. Within the Napa Valley lie many smaller sub-AVAs that express specific characteristics based on situation, slope and soil—as a perfect example, Rutherford’s famous dust or Stags Leap District's tart cherry flavors.