We were offered a new block on of old vine clone 7 in 2010 and we jumped all over it. Located in the western bench land toward the Mayacamas range, we knew we had another gem in the making from this historic Napa Valley vineyard. The legendary old guard clone throws off an amazingly deep ruby color accompanied with purple hues. It has a rich and savory nose of blackberry mole’, huckleberries, pencil shavings and lightly toasted graham crackers. The mid palate is heroic, loaded with rounded tannins that seem perfectly embedded within the core of this wine. Seamless and loaded with waves of decadent Cabernet Sauvignon fruit, this wine borders on stunning. The magnum opus of this wine is its wild yet orchestrated delivery of the above notes that is the definition of purity and balance.

Stephen Tanzer considered this to be one of the best Carter Cellars to date, scoring it 96 to 93 points in a recent barrel tasting.