California Classics

wines

A riveting expression of complex Cabernet, this is rich, loamy and layered, with pure, detailed currant, blackberry and black licorice flavors and firm, gripping tannins. Gains and sustains on the finish. Cellar-worthy. Best from 2014 through 2028.Wine Spectator | 94 WSThe 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon bursts from the glass with huge dark fruit, scorched earth, menthol, licorice and smoke. The first impression is quite positive, but then the persistence on the mid-palate unexpectedly drops off quickly, as if there is a hole in the middle of the wine. In this vintage, the difference between the second label M. Etain and Scarecrow is much less evident than in 2010. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2024.Scarecrow’s 2010s are gorgeous, and also quite a big step up from the 2009s. For more background on the estate, readers may want to revisit my introductory comments in Issue 198.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92 RPThe 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon bursts from the glass with huge dark fruit, scorched earth, menthol, licorice and smoke. The first impression is quite positive, but then the persistence on the mid-palate unexpectedly drops off quickly, as if there is a hole in the middle of the wine. In this vintage, the difference between the second label M. Etain and Scarecrow is much less evident than in 2010.Antonio Galloni | 92 AG

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.Robert Parker | 98 RPA 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.Vinous Media | 96 VMSmoky, dusty tannins give the earth-laced dark berry, raspberry and floral notes definition, accented by espresso, dark chocolate, licorice and anise hints. The density and richness promise a long life, though this is certainly a delight to drink now. Drink now through 2030. 2,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WSNamed after the scarecow in the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz, Scarecrow comes from the historic J J Cohn estate, next door to the historic Inglenook estate, tucked up against the hills of the Mayacamas Mountains in the appellation of Rutherford in the Napa Valley. The land was bought out of bankruptcy in the 1930s by Joe Cohn, an immigrant Russian Orthodox Jew who made his way from Harlem, New York to Hollywood, eventually becoming the first head of MGM (the studio that produced the movie). The vines, planted in 1945, produced grapes that went into many of Napa Valley’s most prestigious wines until 2003, when Cohn’s grandson Bret Lopez, began making the first Scarecrow wines with the help of consulting winemaker Celia Welch. From the first vintage, the wines have acquired near-legendary status for their beauty, immaculate purity, textural tenderness and savoury quality, not unlike the wines of first growth Bordeaux Château Haut-Brion. Drinking Window 2016 - 2035.Decanter | 90 DEC