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2003 Switchback Ridge - Cabernet Sauvignon Peterson Family Vineyard

UNITED STATES / CALIFORNIA / NAPA
  • 94 WA
  • 90 WS
  • 91 IWC
  • Variety
    Cabernet Sauvignon
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SKU: 56186-2003-750-3B
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  • International Wine Cellar | Rating: 91

    ($72) Bright ruby-red. Highly aromatic nose combines black raspberry and chocolate. Then sweet and concentrated but laid-back, with a rocky character to the dark fruit flavors. This, too, is a bit youthfully medicinal but possesses lovely fruit. The tannins are firm. From a well-drained site featuring gravelly loam soil with a lot of rocks. Like the 2003 merlot, this wine seems clearly more successful than the 2002 version.
    Author: Stephen Tanzer
    Issue: May/June 2006

  • Wine Spectator | Rating: 90

    A highly successful 2003 that combines ripe, rich fruit with depth, density and concentration. Shows the telltale tannic structure of the vintage, but also packs in lots of red currant, black cherry and berry flavors that fill out nicely on the palate. 550 cases made.
    Author: James Laube

  • Wine Advocate | Rating: 94

    The 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon is rich and full, but structured, tannic, broad, and savory. Opaque purple to the rim, with a big, smoky, earthy nose of melted licorice, creme de cassis, espresso, and chocolate, the wine is huge, dense, and full-bodied, but beautifully balanced. This is classic New World/Napa Cabernet Sauvignon to drink over the next 12-15+ years.
    Author: Robert Parker
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  • Self | Rating: 92

    Author: Naperwino
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Switchback Ridge produces handcrafted estate wines sourced exclusively from the Peterson Family Vineyard in Calistoga. The property has been in the Peterson family since 1914 and encompasses nearly 100 acres located at the mouth of Dutch Henry Canyon. For over 75 years the property was primarily maintained as a farm and plum orchard, with vines intermingled amongst the trees. In 1990, the orchards were replanted to vineyard, where there are currently 18 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petite Sirah vines, in addition to a three acre 50+ year old Petite Sirah block that John Peterson helped plant as a child. The rich, rocky soils of this beautiful vineyard property consistently produce low yields of intensely flavored fruit, resulting in extremely concentrated, fruit driven wines that are the hallmark of Switchback Ridge. Bob Foley has been the winemaker since the first vintage in 1999.
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California is the heartland of wine production in the US, and the state that brought prestige to American wine thanks to the pioneers who built early wineries like Staglin, Beringer, Ridge, Mayacamas and Chateau Montelena in the 1800s. Its large geographic area ensures a great diversity in growing sites, varieties grown, and quality levels. Generalizations about the state's wines have numerous exceptions; however, a few key facts generally hold true—ample sunshine, dry weather during the growing season, and moderate winters prevail. Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon continue to dominate the state's production—albeit in continually smaller percentages, as growers continue to diversify. More than 100 different varieties can be found throughout the state.

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Collector Data For This Wine

  • 374 bottles owned
  • 90 collectors
  • Average collector rating: 92
    (Out of 90 collectors)