2023 Screaming Eagle, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, Case of 3 Btls

JD100 The epitome of class and elegance, the 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon offers pure crème de cassis, liquid violets, crushed stone, graphite, and cedar notes on the nose. It's full-bodied on the palate, with remarkably polished tannins, flawless overall balance, and incredible length. This is never the biggest or richest wine in the vintage, yet the sheer level of purity, structure, and depth is absolutely incredible. Compared to the 2021, this is less powerful and made in a more elegant style, yet it's every bit as profound and compelling. It builds beautifully with time in the glass and already offers pleasure yet won't hit prime time for a decade and will cruise for 50+ years.

DR100 I would characterise this as a quintessential 'Eagle' from Oakville, displaying beautifully pure, classical California Cabernet character of ripe fruit, mineral intensity and structured tannins, building in the glass with pure black cherry and blackberry fruit, graphite and elegant cedarwood, laced with fragrant crushed mint. Yet there is also a fireworks display of perfume: dried violets, fresh rose petals, ultra-ripe cherry and cherry stone, alongside fresh Oakville garrigue nuances. On the palate, the wine delivers tremendous fruit weight and layering, with spiced plums, macerated black cherries and blackberry fruit interwoven with raspberry nuances, running the full spectrum from red to black. All of this is supported by a bulwark of crisp, apple-skin tannin that resolves through fragrant Asian and mild Indian spice notes towards a long, slate-like mineral finish with saline acid tension. The structure suggests extraordinary longevity.