2000 Cabernet Sauvignon

“Complex nose melds black raspberry, dark chocolate, licorice, roasted meat and sexy oak notes. Fat and sweet in the middle, with warm flavors of plum, game and smoke; suggests almost roasted ripeness, yet shows very good flavor definition. Finishes with horizontal, fine tannins and lovely persistence. A very successful 2000, from an area (Conn Valley) in which the fruit obviously ripened well.” -Stephen Tanzer, Vinous (May 2003) 92 points

Tasting Notes

A wine of great character that has evolved to show beautifully layered flavors of dark fruits, mint, coffee and mocha along with an herbaceousness and roasted ripeness that speaks of the land and trees. The finish has gracious staying power.

Ratings

Stephen Tanzer, Vinous (Apr. 2017) – 91 points
“A supple, spicy wine that combines green notes of pepper and dried herbs…with flavors of chocolate and caramel. Not especially deep but spreads out horizontally to saturate the palate. Finishes with granular, slightly drying tannins and noteworthy length. There are some evolved notes here but this wine offers plenty of flavor interest and personality.”

Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate (Dec. 2003) – 91 points
“A powerful, strong effort for this challenging vintage, it exhibits an opaque purple color as well as a tight but promising bouquet of earth, creme de cassis, wood, forest floor, and licorice aromas. This is a big, deep, chewy atypically authoritative 2000 that will benefit from 5-6 years of cellaring, and keep for 15-20. It may be one of the longest lived Cabernets of the vintage. Kudos to Seavey for this accomplishment.”

Stephen Tanzer, Vinous (May 2003) – 92 points
“Complex nose melds black raspberry, dark chocolate, licorice, roasted meat and sexy oak notes. Fat and sweet in the middle, with warm flavors of plum, game and smoke; suggests almost roasted ripeness, yet shows very good flavor definition. Finishes with horizontal, fine tannins and lovely persistence. A very successful 2000, from an area (Conn Valley) in which the fruit obviously ripened well.”

Vineyard Notes

Seavey’s 11th estate-produced Cabernet, the 2000, was made from grapes that came from vines planted in several different locations of the south-facing hillside vineyard. Robert Parker described the 2000 vintage in Napa this way: “A challenging year, particularly for Cabernet Sauvignon producers, this vintage’s cool growing season was complicated by unusual amounts of rain…Many rushed to harvest in order to save the grapes…the finest wines have come from those who waited…Some terrific wines can be found.” At Seavey, we were among those who waited to pick until the grapes were completely mature. The harvest was long — the first grapes were picked on September 14th and the last on October 27th.

Production Notes

Winemaking followed classic Bordeaux methods. Harvested at 24.5 degrees Brix, the yields were 2 tons per acre, up from 1.5 tons the previous year, but still quite low. The juice remained in contact with the skins for an average of 21 days and, following malolactic fermentation, the wine was aged in French oak barrels (60% new oak) until bottling on May 23-24, 2002.

100% ESTATE GROWN, PRODUCED & BOTTLED, NAPA VALLEY AVA