Wine Enthusiast 94
Editor's Choice
"This wine vastly overdelivers on its price pointa rarity in its category and peers. Made from grapes throughout the appellation, the majority from St. Helena, it blends in small amounts of Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and Cab Franc. Turned earth, pungent tobacco leaf and currant define its savory, substantially structured elegance that offers room to age."

Wine Advocate 93
"The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon also contains 8% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot, 2% Malbec and 2% Cabernet Franc and was aged 28 months in 48% new French oak. Deep ruby in color, it has very pure, layered aromas of raspberry and cherry preserves with notes of cardamom, aniseed and rose petals. The full-bodied palate is intensely layered and perfumed, seamless and long. It's an elegant rendition of an appellation-wide Cabernet Sauvignon from what can be a rich, powerful vintage in Napa. 7,085 cases produced."

Wine Spectator 92
"This is a lively and engaging Cab, brimming with damson plum, red currant and bitter cherry fruit, liberally laced with sassafras, red tea and juniper accents. Fresh and open-knit through the finish. Drink now through 2027. 7,085 cases made. JM"

Jeb Dunnuck 92
"I was able to taste two Cabernets from Ramey. Starting with the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley, which comes from Napa, it offers textbook, slightly old-school Cabernet notes of blackcurrants, black cherries, sweet tobacco, cedar, and chocolate. It doesn't pull any punches on the palate and is ripe, medium to full-bodied, and beautifully textured, with a dense mid-palate, yet it brings good freshness, notable structure, and a great finish. It will keep for 15 years or more."

The Wine
Varietal Composition: 78 Cabernet Sauvignon, 12 Merlot, 7 Malbec and 3 Petit Verdot

Napa Valley: 34 St. Helena, 26 Oak Knoll, 17 Napa Valley, 12 Napa-Carneros, 7 Mt. Veeder, 4 Rutherford

Vintage Notes
Winter 2015 was the warmest on record, resulting in early bud break. Cooler, wetter weather in spring months slowed development, however, leading to a challenging, extended bloom period. The resulting uneven fruit set translated to a small crop and smaller berries with very concentrated flavors. Weather throughout the summer growing season was consistently warm, bringing on a very early harvest.

Winemaking
The wine rested sur lies to incorporate the oak so that the 28 months spent in 52 new barrels (three-year air-dried French, 50 and American, 2) is barely noticeable. Non-filtered.

Winemaker Notes
The geology and soils of Napa Valley are notoriously complex and are primarily comprised of broken down or decomposed rock that has been carried downhill from the eastern Vaca range and the western Mayacamas range into the base of the valley, where they ultimately intermingle with the silt, clay and gravel deposits of the Napa River flood plain.