Inky, dark in color, the wine pops from the glass with its blackberries, black cherries, licorice, chocolate, smoke, cassis, and vanilla beans. Rich, concentrated, opulent, and intense, the wine coats your palate, teeth, and gums with waves of lusciously textured, dark fruits that linger. The wine is produced from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, coming from a parcel selection of the estate's oldest vines. With all of its ripe, round fruits, it can be enjoyed in its youth, or you can age it for additional complexities and softness.
* Jeff Leve - Tasted: April 2025
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Drinking Window: 2026-2056 Size: 1.5 L Critic Scores: 98 JL, 96 RP Region: Napa Valley ABV: 14.5%
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Drinking Window: 2026 - 2045 Size: 1.5 L Critic Scores: 95 JL, 95 RP Region: Napa Valley ABV: 14.5%"The Cathiard estate's flagship wine is super concentrated, superfine in texture, built for long aging but also enticing to drink soon. It is made from 100% cabernet sauvignon from the oldest vines on the property, planted in 1978. Beautiful flavors of creme de cassis, black cherries, blueberries, orange zest and bitter chocolate are layered and almost delicate." * James Suckling - Tasted: March 2025
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Drinking Window: 2025-2048 Size: 1.5 L Critic Scores: 97 WI Region: Napa Valley ABV: 14.1%"Wonderful aromas of blackcurrants, dark plums, mint, sage, and dried wood. Some sandalwood. Full- to medium-bodied with tannins that have the texture of fine velvet and run down the length of the wine. Extremely polished and refined. Sophisticated. Firm at the end. This will age beautifully. Pure cabernet sauvignon." * James Suckling - Tasted: Feb. 2023
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Drinking Window: 2025-2035 Size: 750mL Critic Scores: 95 James Suckling Region: Napa Valley ABV: 14.7-14.8%"A super creamy, delicious and detailed red with oodles of red fruit, silky tannins and a full body. It tastes pure, fresh, almost delicate, offering raspberries, cherry cream, blueberries, cafe au lait and subtle oak toast on the palate. A gentle, layered, pretty wine that seems not at all affected by the wildfire smoke that year. Drinkable now, but best from 2030."* James Suckling - Tasted: April 2025
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Drinking Window: 2025-2045 Size: 750mL Critic Scores: 96 Decanter Region: Alexander Valley ABV: 13.9-14.5%"So full-bodied, ripe and robust, offering spicy, iron-like, black fruit aromas, with generous dark cherries on a firmly tannic palate. Concentrated black plum, graphite, black pepper, coffee bean, pine resin and oak toast flavors on a full body. The tannins are powerful and fine-grained, shaping the texture significantly at this stage. Drinkable now, but best from 2030."* James Suckling - Tasted: April 2025
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Drinking Window: 2025-2055 Size: 750mL Critic Scores: 98 DE Region: Napa Valley ABV: 14.8% "Scarecrow’s M. Étain label – French for 'Tin Man' – debuted in 2008. "We wanted to create a companion label to Scarecrow utilizing the younger blocks, or cuts of Clone 337 that were too abundant for the flagship bottling," explains winemaker Celia Welch. The 2022 vintage is a blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Malbec, 5% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot, all sourced from the J.J. Cohn estate in Rutherford, aged for 18 months in 60% new French oak and bottled unfined and unfiltered. In 2023, the wine reads as quintessential Rutherford, opening with perfectly ripe boysenberry and cherry before building into classic site signatures of dusty minerality, unsweetened cocoa powder and a hint of bergamot. As Welch notes, there is also a subtle touch of sweet basil—a detail that captures Rutherford’s terroir beautifully, that dusty earth component edged with gentle sweetness. The palate unfolds with impressive density and richness, yet retains lift, carried by blue, black and red fruit and generous cocoa-powder tannins through the expressive finish. Utterly delicious and immediately drinkable, yet firmly structured to evolve gracefully. Farming in 2023 was overseen by Domenick Bianco, formerly of Joseph Phelps Vineyards." * Johnathan Cristaldi, Decanter - Tasted: March 2026
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Drinking Window: 2025 - 2046 Size: 750mL Critic Scores: 99 TP Region: Paso Robles ABV: 15.2% "Opulent with purity and charm, giving aromas of blackberry and cherry, fig, dark chocolate, sweet tobacco, cedar and licorice with a mineral undertone. The palate is full-bodied with finely integrated tannins, balanced acidity and a plush, layered mouthfeel with a silken, refined feel. A blend of 76% cabernet sauvignon, 16% cabernet franc and 6% petit verdot. Drink or hold." * James Suckling - Tasted: June 2026
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Drinking Window: Size: 750mL Critic Scores: 100 JS, 100 AGC Region: Howell Mountain ABV: "The purity of cabernet fruit is phenomenal, with black currant, crushed stone and gravel and some terra cotta. It’s full-bodied with incredible depth and length. It goes on and on. Reminds me of Latour from the late 1940s." "Wow." "Will age forever. Drink now or hold." * James Suckling - Tasted: Sept. 2025
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Drinking Window: Size: 750mL Critic Scores: 100 JS, 100 DC, 100 AGC Region: Howell Mountain ABV: "Black currant, hints of mint, lead pencil and black cherry aromas follow through to a full body with very fine tannins and an endless finish. The texture leaves me breathless and speechless. Incredible length and depth. Hard not to drink now." * James Suckling - Tasted: Sept. 2025
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Drinking Window: Size: 750mL Critic Scores: 100 AGC Region: Napa Valley ABV: "This is the darker expression of WRAITH, and I tend to prefer it in 2022. The wine is profoundly soulful and deeply penetrating. It’s boldly rich red and black fruits, warming spices, and sinewy tannins unfold in mesmerizing precision, flooding the palate with the most succulent, umami, and lush textures. The WRAITH Holy Quest is a barrel selection that embodies Jayson Woodbridge’s personal journey to fuse his life with wine as ‘a bodyguard, a protector—like body armour—shielding you from the buffeting forces of life.’ During my tasting with him in 2024, he offered this detailed explanation of Holy Quest: ‘[This is] a small, rare portion of WRAITH, [which is a wine] based on the legend of the Knights Templar. On Friday the 13th, the Templars were betrayed and extinguished by the corrupt French King and Pope. These knights, protectors of the realm, wore the Armour of Light. Still, as they prepared to create immortals, they forged the Armour of Night—allowing them to become vaporous at night, solid during the day, and safe only within the sanctity of Templar churches. The WRAITH label speaks to this secret, explaining how only two Templars can pass through the hidden seal—read the label closely." * (JC) Decanter - Tasted: January 2025
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Drinking Window: 2025 - 2040 Size: 750mL Critic Scores: 97 Decanter Region: Napa Valley ABV: 15.5% "Black currants and black berries, with a transparency that lets beautiful pine needles and sage shine through. Full-bodied with a very fine velvet texture. Extremely long and delicious. Intense finish. Amazing length The owner is Hundred Acre, and it’s coming through clearly. Drink or hold." * James Suckling - Tasted: Sept. 2025
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Drinking Window: 2025 - 2035 Size: 750mL Critic Scores: 96 Decanter Region: Sonoma Coast ABV: 14.8% "Aromas of blue fruit, strawberries and spices such as nutmeg. Medium-bodied with creamy and round tannins and some chocolate flavors. Savory and fruity finish. Drink now." * James Suckling - Tasted: Sept. 2025
