2012 Cabernet Sauvignon
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Tasting notes
Realm Cellars historic Napa Valley tasting. Realm’s Scott Becker described the vineyards of Scarecrow, Vine Hill Ranch and MacDonald as indubitably of grand cru status. Scarecrow is grown on a site on the Rutherford Bench at the foot of the Mayacamas mountains next to Inglenook and the Coppola residences. Some of the valley’s oldest vines grow here on the estate originally planted in the 1940s by Hollywood producer J J Cohn of Wizard of Oz fame. When he died at 100 in 1996 his grandson Bret Lopez decided to take it over and moved there with his wife. The wine is made by celebrated consultant Celia Welch. For ages the fruit went to the likes of Robert Mondavi and Etude but grape supply contracts were cancelled when the new regime took over. From a warm, generous year. Very deep luscious, polished, blackish crimson. Heady and easy to mistake for an overripe wine. Still youthful. Very sweet. (JR)
Critic scores
Robert Parker
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Opulent, sexy, polished, concentrated and loaded from top to bottom with ripe fleshy sensuous, black fruits, chocolate, licorice, black cherries, espresso, vanilla bean and exotic spices. Deep, dark in color, this is luscious from the get go. And it\'s even better with air, as the wine expands. This is never over the top, everything is in balance and harmony. 98 Points
A compelling, exotic beauty, the 2012 Scarecrow impresses for its power and intensity. White flowers, spices and new leather wrap around a core of dark fruit as this imposing, structured Cabernet Sauvignon opens up in the glass. The 2012 needs time in bottle to drop some baby fat and develop more aromatic nuance, but it is absolutely captivating, even today.
The classic 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon included fruit from the 2-acre, old vine parcel that is nearly 70 years of age. It boasts an opaque purple color as well as copious notes of spring flowers, blackberries, black raspberries and wet rocks. The wine’s gravelly minerality and spectacular opulence and density make it an instant classic. This massive, full-bodied 2012 should drink beautifully for 15-20+ years. It showed incredibly well last year, and it still reveals the potential to possibly merit a 3-digit score – it’s that special.
About the producer
Scarecrow shot to fame with its debut 2003 vintage. The wine, named after the The Wizard of Oz character, is made exclusively from grapes from the J. J. Cohn vineyard in Napa’s Rutherford. Scarecrow is owned by Bret Lopez (J. J. Cohn’s grandson) and is very much a rarity in Napa.