Gandona 2016 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon

Net Priced Wine

Winemaker Notes

An absolutely incredible showing, the 2016 Gandona Estate Cabernet Sauvignon is a drop-dead-gorgeous showing from Proprietor, Manuel Pires and Winemaker, Phillipe Melka. The fruit is sourced from the highest and steepest blocks on the Estate Vineyard, and it is aged for 20 months in predominately new French oak. The result is a simply stunning wine that bursts open with incredibly perfumed aromatics of ripe blueberries and cassis, which are woven together with fresh violets, graphite, burnt embers, spices and a loamy mineral character. On the palate this is full-bodied and dense with incredible overall concentration. Displaying wonderful balance, this stunning Cabernet continues to impress with a gorgeous opulent texture that continues to build on the palate and frame the remarkably pure, dark fruit profile. In short, this is an absolutely sensational wine that is already already offering a considerable amount appeal, yet should also cruise in the cellar for at least two decades.

Critical Acclaim

97pts Vinous 
The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon is every bit as impressive from bottle as it was from barrel. Bright, floral and nuanced, with all of the depth these wines have always shown, the 2016 packs a serious punch. Raspberry jam and floral notes, along with bright acids, carry the 2016 effortlessly. The energy and tension in 2016 are palpable and also a departure from the past, when the wines at times were quite heavy. The 2016 is easily the best wine I have tasted from Gandona. I can't wait to see how it ages.

97pts Jeb Dunnuck
First made in 2009 and coming from Pritchard Hill, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Gandona is produced with consulting help from the talented Philippe Melka. Made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon that saw a lengthy maceration and 20 months in 73% new French oak, this sensational 2016 sports a saturated purple color as well as incredibly pure aromatics of blue fruits, violets, charcoal, and camphor. It’s full-bodied and powerful, yet has awesome purity and elegance, building tannins, and perfect balance. It’s a tour de force in Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon that will keep for 2-3 decades.

95pts Robert Parker
One-hundred percent Cabernet Sauvignon from the Gandona Estate up on Pritchard Hill, aged for 20 months in 73% new French oak, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate is very deep garnet-purple colored with an intense nose of crème de cassis, blueberry pie and chocolate-covered cherries with wafts of red roses, star anise, cloves, cigar box and tilled loam. The palate is medium to full-bodied with exciting vivacity and energy charging the core of black fruits, framed by ripe, grainy tannins and finishing long and mineral laced. 560 cases produced.

750ml