From their 40+ acres of vineyard in the very northeasterly sector of Napa, just south of the quaint town of Calistoga, anywhere from 1,600 to 2,200 cases of Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele Vineyard are produced. The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele (a blend of 91% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Merlot) shows wonderfully sweet black currant notes intermixed with some licorice, incense, crushed rock, and floral characteristics. It is deep, medium to full-bodied, with beautiful purity, virtually perfect integration of tannins, and extraordinary length which lasts over 60 seconds. This is an exceptional, seamless Cabernet Sauvignon that is the vinous equivalent of haute couture. This sensationally pure wine (actually the first vintage of the estate Cabernet to have a little Merlot in it, but only 2%) borders on perfection. This is a gorgeously proportioned wine with beautiful floral and black fruit notes intermixed with some mineral and gentle background oak.One of California’s and the world’s great wine estates, Araujo continues to exhibit remarkable consistency and impeccably high quality. Little seems to change other than some minor tweaking with respect to viticulture and winemaking. The team of Bart and Daphne Araujo, their talented longtime winemaker, Francoise Peschon, and the globe-trotting oenologist, Michel Rolland, are to be commended on the extraordinary elegance of these wines.Robert Parker | 98+ RPStunning. Explodes with the most intricately detailed aromas: a perfume of fine smoky oak and ripe black currants. Exudes sheer power, with great weight yet no heaviness. Lush and delicious, but just tannic enough. If you can wait, cellar until 2008, it should hold and improve for many years.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WE(91% cabernet sauvignon, 5% cabernet franc, 2% petit verdot and 2% merlot) Good full red-ruby color. Wonderful floral lift to the expressive aromas of blackcurrant, black raspberry, tobacco, graphite and nutty oak. Dense, thick and sweet but with perfectly integrated acidity framing the deep flavors of currant, tobacco, mocha and earth. Finishes broad, dusty and very long, with the tannins thoroughly buffered by the wine's mid-palate fruit. This boasts real density of extract without any undue heaviness and offers the balance and backbone for a long and positive evolution in bottle. Very long on personality.Vinous Media | 95+ VMSmooth, rich and savory, with dried currant, wild berry and black cherry fruit that has a dusty, savory herb and underbrush flavor that adds complexity, ending with a pretty burst of ripe fruit. This grows on you. Best from 2011 through 2018. 2,600 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WS(Araujo Estate, Eisele Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, Calistoga, California, USA, Red) 2005 is one of those vintages where ripeness and new oak are pitted against the Eisele terroir, and while in its style the wine must be judged a success, this isn't really a wine for classicists. Aromas of blueberry, raspberry and ripe blackcurrants are inflected with barrel toast and spice in a sweet melange, following through on the expansive, rich and oaky palate. (Drink between 2016-2020)Decanter | 91 DEC
