Kathryn Hall Cabernet Sauvignon


Kathryn Hall Cabernet Sauvignon is the first wine we blend every year and serves as the heart of our portfolio. Fruit from our rugged Sacrashe Estate has always been the starting point and foundation for this wine. From there we introduce complementary selections from Napa Valley’s finest mountain appellations to bring balance, symmetry, and finesse to the composition. The resulting blend demonstrates the profound depth and opulence that consistently defines our flagship offering.
Our 2020 Kathryn Hall Cabernet Sauvignon is now available for purchase.
Tasting Notes
Kathryn Hall Cabernet Sauvignon, our signature blend, is ultimately defined by its core of dark, succulent Sacrashe Rutherford Vineyard fruit. Meticulous attention in the vineyard—careful canopy management, optimization of sun exposure—develops grapes with supple, ripe, opulent tannins. Vintage after vintage, our Kathryn Hall Cabernet Sauvignon is characterized by an interplay of elegance and concentration. It displays voluptuous, dark berry fruit aromas with notes of crushed lavender and graphite that carry over onto a dense palate. The wine’s intensity lasts over a lengthy finish.
Winemaker Megan Gunderson presents Kathryn Hall Cabernet Sauvignon
Sacrashe, Hall Estate, Dellar-Friedkin, and Grower Partners.
The Kathryn Hall Cabernet Sauvignon is the pinnacle of our blending efforts each year. Our Sacrashe vineyard takes center stage, and is the basis of this blend. This high elevation vineyard brings the mouth-coating richness and complexity, offering deep, dark earthy cassis flavors and powerfully dense tannins. From there, we search out complementary vineyards, usually from the most regarded mountain appellations, to create balance, symmetry and finesse in the wine. Lastly, we introduce vineyard sites with profound depth and decadence to heighten the voluptuousness and opulence that have become the hallmark character of our flagship wine.
Variety | 91% Cabernet, 7% Cabernet Franc, 2% Merlot |
Vinification | 100% destemmed, fermented in stainless tank and oak uprights, aged in barrel |
Barrel Aging | 70% New French Oak, mostly Taransaud - 26 months |
Alcohol | 15.5% |
Misc Comments | unfined, unfiltered |
Head of Vineyards Don Munk presents the Sacrashe vineyard
The Sacrashe Vineyard
The Sacrashe vineyard serves as the core of the Kathryn Hall blend. It produces berries that are small and concentrated with intense flavors and tannin. The wines are exceptionally rich, expansive, and massively structured. The concentrated fruit maintains a focused clarity and the fine-grained tannin creates a balanced frame.
Ensconced by 100-year-old oaks, manzanita, and pines, the Sacrashe vineyard is composed of distinctive volcanic ash soils (tuff). An undulating topography creates numerous microclimates and slope grades. The Rutherford hilltop terroir creates difficult growing conditions and limits the vigor and yield of each vine to not more than 3 tons per acre. HALL’s small-vine farming practices further limit the yield such that each vine produces less than 4 pounds of fruit each year.
Craig and Kathryn Hall purchased Sacrashe, their first Napa Valley vineyard, in 1995. Intrigued by Rutherford terroir and the locale’s pedigree, the Hall's fell in love with Sacrashe’s serenity and sweeping vistas. They built their home at the summit of the rolling vineyard and constructed the HALL Rutherford Winery at the northwestern edge of the parcel.