1 bottle of Highest Beauty cabernet sauvignon on a white background

2016 HIGHEST BEAUTY CABERNET SAUVIGNON

This incredibly complex wine opens with delicious blackberry, cassis, and blackberry compote notes on the nose. The palate is a harmonious dance between dark, luxuriously juicy cherry and bright, balancing acidity, with flavors of red currant, freshly ground coffee, summer soil, sage, chocolate, and baking spices supported by fine, strong tannins, all leading to a long, lingering finish.

  • Vintage 2016
  • Vineyard To Kalon Vineyard
  • Appellation Oakville, Napa Valley
  • Varietal 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Cooperage 100% New French Oak
  • Winemaker Andy Erickson

  • Accolades

    99 Pts. "This pure Cabernet Sauvignon is the real deal with redcurrant and terracotta character on both the nose and palate. It's full-bodied, yet really reserved and ultra-refined."
    — James Suckling (Top 100 Wines of 2020 from James Suckling)

    97 Pts. "A large wine, with a dense, layered core of black currant ... steeped with sagebrush, tar, loam and tobacco accents. A bolt of warm cast iron runs through the finish, providing structure and support that should allow this to cruise for two decades in the cellar."
    — James Moleworth, Wine Spectator

    97 Pts. "This is a ripe, sexy, yet flawlessly balanced Cabernet that can be drunk today with incredible pleasure or cellared for 15-20 years, if you're so inclined."
    — Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com

  • Vineyard

    H.W. Crabb came to California looking for gold but stayed to become one of the pioneers of Napa Valley winemaking. He named his estate To Kalon Vineyard, Greek for Highest Beauty, because of the lush bounty it provided. Soon, his wines became renowned around the world. And over the last 150 years, the vineyard's consistent fine quality has made it one of the most coveted in the world.

    Sited between the sheltering Vaca and Mayacamas mountain ranges deep in the valley, the vineyard has well-drained, gravelly soil that allows the vines to root deeply to find precious moisture and nutrients. The broad diurnal temperature shifts and reliable sun, wind, and fog provide the ideal blend of growth and rest for complex flavor development.

  • Vintage

    Early winter rains alleviated some of the drought conditions of the previous four years and helped contribute to an early start for the 2016 growing season. Summer was then cooler than average, increasing the natural acidity of the grapes. By the time of the harvest in the last days of September, the grapes had the opportunity to develop fully, giving the wine a notable density and highly expressive aromatics.