Country: U.S.A.

Region: Napa Valley

Vintage: 2012

Cépage: Cabernet Sauvignon (94%); Merlot (6%)

Size: 750 ml

Rating(s): 99 (RP)

" The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon 5500 is bottled unfined and unfiltered after 18-20 months in oak. Futo practices long lees contact, five-day prefermentation cold soak and only one racking, which is when the barrels are racked directly into the tank prior to bottling. This is a stunning wine, and it was not easy to back off a perfect score, but maybe that will come with another several years of bottle age. The wine has profound intensity, amazing purity and clarity, an inky bluish/purple color, a stunning nose of spring flowers interwoven with crème de cassis, background charcoal, smoldering embers, and a full-bodied mouthfeel. It has an incredible lightness of being, despite its exceptional intensity and richness. This is an amazing wine and a great example of Stags Leap."

Robert Parker Jr (RP) - 10/15