Master Sommelier Kevin Vogt says:
It's always surprising and refreshing to find a wine that offers exceptional quality and a minimal cost (here he means $65), and the Croze Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 does just that. It begins with an engaging nose that includes cherry cola, brambly red and black berries, baker's chocolate, lilacs, herbs de Provence, and vanilla spice. These aromas beautifully sync with a harmonizing palate, including ripe Bing cherries, black plums, cocoa powder, and dried tobacco. The beautifully integrated acidity perfectly complements the lush, supple mouthfeel, creating a seamless style that leads to a long, enticing finish.
As winemaker Daniel Benton explains:
This site made history as part of the core of Groth’s incredible 1985 Cabernet Sauvignon, the first American wine that garnered a perfect 100-point score from Robert Parker, Jr. Considered a “platinum-rated” vineyard for its highly desirable combination of climate and soil type, Money Road Ranch sits on a deep soil layered with loam and gravel. It’s a highly unique microclimate here, with a 30-degree swing in temperatures between day and night, a record for Oakville. The resulting fruit is well-endowed with plump fruit and mouthwatering acidity.
2018 Croze Cabernet Sauvignon follows the Croze philosophy of balance and elegance. Our signature wine shows its deep roots in the cult wine growing area of Oakville, and its great pedigree. This wine is a classic Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon showing its Oakville roots with beautiful aromas of dark plum, cocoa and toasted oak, unfolding into hazelnut and cloves, full bodied with depth, moderate tannin and brilliant acidity on the finish.
The grapes were harvested in October 2018 and following a slow fermentation the wine was racked to barrel using 1/3 new, 1/3 once filled and 1/3 twice filled French Oak barrels. The wine was racked twice in 2019 and 2020.
Benton is a rare Napa winemaker working with material like this who still values balance, elegance, beauty and class above all else. And the 2018 vintage – when he could harvest all the way into October yet still have a reasonable 14.2% alcohol – provided the perfect, exquisitely balanced conditions to realize his vision.
THIS is the perfect Croze Cabernet. At least so far.
I just wish there was more of it.
