| Brand | Cakebread Dancing Bear Red |
| Appellation | Napa Valley / California |
| Vintage | 2016 |
| Oak Treatment | French oak |
| Aging | 22 months |
| Total Varietal Composition % | 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Cabernet Franc and 3% Merlot |
Product details
About This Wine
We’re delighted to release our much anticipated, high-scoring cult classic: 2016 Dancing Bear Ranch cabernet sauvignon. Blended with cabernet franc and just a touch of merlot—this unique offering displays generous aromas of boysenberry, black cherry, and fig with appealing hints of forest floor. The boysenberry character extends over a concentrated, fleshy palate, joined by notes of blackberry and laced with a distinctive minerality. Opulent mountain tannins support the intense fruit through a powerful, elegant, lengthy finish. Enjoy with rosemary braised lamb shanks, filet mignon, grilled portabello mushrooms, or decadent flourless chocolate cake. This remarkable wine will continue to evolve its complexity in the bottle for another decade.
The Cakebread Dancing Bear Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain is true to its mountain provenance boasting intense, complex, high-toned aromas of Bing cherry, brambleberry and spicy dark plum fruit mingled with enticing floral, sage, tobacco, chocolate, earth and mineral scents. Incredibly pure and focused on the palate, its beautifully structured wild cherry, ripe fig, spicy black fruit and dark chocolate flavors reveal a pronounced minerality in the wine’s long, persistent finish. Delicious now with grilled steaks, venison, and hearty stews, this wonderfully rich, complex, chiseled mountain Cabernet Sauvignon will handsomely repay long-term cellaring. 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc."
September 30, 2019
100 points
A blend of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Cabernet Franc and 3% Merlot, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Dancing Bear Ranch was aged for 22 months in French oak, 60% new. Very deep purple-black colored, it is profoundly scented of crushed blackcurrants, warm blueberries, plum preserves, Black Forest cake and charcoal with nuances of unsmoked cigars, forest floor, truffles and star anise plus wafts of violets and stewed tea. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is super intense and yet wonderfully graceful, featuring a beautiful frame of very fine-grained, very firm tannins and bold freshness supporting layer upon layer of black fruit and earthy flavors, finishing with epic length and depth. This is simply a stunning expression of one of Napa’s great, great sites—it should age incredibly!
WINE ADVOCATE - ROBERT PARKER - 2016 VINTAGE
