2023 Glassblower Napa Cabernet Sauvignon, Oak Knoll District, Napa Valley
94 POINTS ~ Decanter
Tasting Notes
This Cabernet Sauvignon is classically styled, with aromas of juicy black fruit underlined by flavors of red cherry, blackberry, and toasted oak. The palate is well-balanced with the bright acidity that Oak Knoll is known for.
Winemaking
Located at the southern end of the Napa Valley, the Oak Knoll sub-appellation is known for its esteemed Cabs. The fruit for this wine had the luxury of ripening slowly for a fantastic concentration of flavors and mouthfeel. Cabernet Sauvignon loves the temperate heat, mixed with marine breezes from the bay. The grapes from the Glass Blower’s vineyard benefit from long days bookended by cool nights and mornings, resulting in a full-bodied wine with complexity and structure.
Specs
Vintage: 2023
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon
Appellation: Napa Valley, Oak Knoll District
Alcohol: 14.5%
pH: 3.75
Total Acidity: 5.5 g/L
Residual Sugar: 1.9 g/L
What’s Included
4-bottles:
4x 2023 Glassblower Cabernet Sauvignon, Oak Knoll District, Napa Valley
Case:
12x 2023 Glassblower Cabernet Sauvignon, Oak Knoll District, Napa Valley
Price Comparison
Not for sale on winery website, $480/case MSRP
About The Winery
Winery: Glassblower
Location: Napa Valley
The art of glass blowing is the culmination of both a steady hand and a vision. It blends contemporary style with age-old tradition, the result of which captures the gradation of color, structure and body with elegance. Each piece is its own, much like wine, which changes from vintage to vintage. Glassblower wines are hand-crafted to embrace their sourcing, are varietally expressive and unique works of art, in their own right.
Calm sun kissed mornings give way to breezes blowing from the south on summer days in Oak Knoll. One of the southernmost of Napa Valley’s sub-appellations, the Oak Knoll District is known for a longer growing season, it takes a few extra days to get cabernet sauvignon grapes ripe in this part of the Valley. Grapes from the Glassblower’s vineyard benefit from the extra hangtime, and make wines with complex layers of flavors.
Being a LabRat just might be one of my favorite things to do…. taste yummy wine and share about it! What’s not to love about that? So thank you Alice for giving me this opportunity to LabRat the Glassblower Cabernet Sauvignon, from the Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley 2023.
Uncorked this beautiful bottle and noticed not much of a smell to it. Did a small pour and it was a beautiful brilliant ruby color and light in body. So I decided to let my glass sit for a while before tasting while I worked on my pasta bolognese dinner to pair with this wine.
So glad I let this sit for a bit, it was a beautiful swirl in the glass with a gentle aroma of berries. Upon first tastes I had hints of blackberry, cherry, raspberry jam. Smooth on the palate, a bit dry with a hint of tannins. On the very back end, I tasted Red Vines licorice!?! Thought it was my imagination, had to give it a few more sips to confirm what I was tasting, and it was in fact Red Vines licorice. It paired wonderfully with our pasta and we finished the rest of the bottle over dessert, chocolate covered strawberries! Perfect bottle on a perfect Valentine weekend.
The Glassblower is a young cabernet and think it would do well sitting for a bit! Do not let this one pass you by. Try this Glassblower, of better yet get a couple of bottles to share with friends to share around the dinner table. Bon Appetit, mon ami!
@fox_y_vino A wine tasting like something as artificial as red vines is a bit of a flag. In my case it’s a green flag, since I would have a hard time choosing between a million dollars and a million red vines.
It’s always appreciated when a Lab Rat e-mail arrives.
My thanks to David, Alice, and the entire Casemates team for continuing this program and supporting the logistics that go behind it.
Today’s offering is a 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon (cab) from Glassblower with impressive pedigree, 100% fruit sourced from the Oak Knoll District. I drink a lot of Pinot Noir, so it is important to preface this review that if I am going to be drinking a “heavier than accustomed wine”, like a cab, I will be pairing it with food, probably BBQ. Also, if I am going to drink a cab, out of respect to a particular fellow CM who would claim infanticide of most cab consumed under ten years of age, I would age the bottle. Duty calls however and this grainy cork must be popped.
On initial PNP, straight from the fridge (57 degrees) I detect bell pepper on the nose and the taste is jammy, not complex, and in my belief needs time to aerate and acclimate closer to room temperature. Over the course of the next 90 minutes, the bottle opens up, with finish flavor profiles of bing cherry and a light scent of dark chocolate. The wine is not overly tannic, which makes sense for a 2023 cab already bottled.
We paired with steak, baked potato, and green beans, the bottle was consumed by the end of dinner.
The case price of this is a no brainer considering fruit pedigree and we are just over ninety days away from kickoff of summer BBQ season.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations.)
2023 Glassblower Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon - $35 = 17.94%
Tried to find a little “winery” background. Not saying good or bad but this label is apparently owned/trademarked by Sonoma Bespoke Beverages. Fairly new company, 2016, that acquired Steelbird Cellars, a custom bottling facility/custom wine bottling service in 2024. Steelbird is/was part of Don Sebastiani & Sons, hence Don in the youtube blurb above. Bespoke recently filed for trademarks on approx 30 wine labels/names of which Glassblower is one of them. Trademark was applied for June '24 and was just approved for publication Feb 4 '25.
@kaolis this was my thought without the research. No details on the vineyard these grapes are from and no mention of winemaker. Such a young bottling makes me nervous it will actually hold up with age.
@kaolis I have so many questions. Where in the valley, right above Napa(city) in that basin? Is that a great area for a deep cab? Stoked for newer vintners. Interested in the pedigree. I worry that those grapes didn’t get enough. After some years of floods, cut the loses and make a leese. Enjoy that flavor.
2023 Glassblower Napa Cabernet Sauvignon, Oak Knoll District, Napa Valley
94 POINTS ~ Decanter
Tasting Notes
Winemaking
Specs
What’s Included
4-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
Not for sale on winery website, $480/case MSRP
About The Winery
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/FyRcbD5BiHA
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Mar 10 - Tuesday, Mar 11
2023 Glassblower Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
4 bottles for $64.99 $16.25/bottle + $2/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $159.99 $13.33/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
Being a LabRat just might be one of my favorite things to do…. taste yummy wine and share about it! What’s not to love about that? So thank you Alice for giving me this opportunity to LabRat the Glassblower Cabernet Sauvignon, from the Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley 2023.
Uncorked this beautiful bottle and noticed not much of a smell to it. Did a small pour and it was a beautiful brilliant ruby color and light in body. So I decided to let my glass sit for a while before tasting while I worked on my pasta bolognese dinner to pair with this wine.
So glad I let this sit for a bit, it was a beautiful swirl in the glass with a gentle aroma of berries. Upon first tastes I had hints of blackberry, cherry, raspberry jam. Smooth on the palate, a bit dry with a hint of tannins. On the very back end, I tasted Red Vines licorice!?! Thought it was my imagination, had to give it a few more sips to confirm what I was tasting, and it was in fact Red Vines licorice. It paired wonderfully with our pasta and we finished the rest of the bottle over dessert, chocolate covered strawberries! Perfect bottle on a perfect Valentine weekend.
The Glassblower is a young cabernet and think it would do well sitting for a bit! Do not let this one pass you by. Try this Glassblower, of better yet get a couple of bottles to share with friends to share around the dinner table. Bon Appetit, mon ami!
@fox_y_vino good work. napa cab at < $15.00 per bottle? yes please.
@Winedavid59 it was tasty and at the price, it would be silly not to buy!!
@fox_y_vino A wine tasting like something as artificial as red vines is a bit of a flag. In my case it’s a green flag, since I would have a hard time choosing between a million dollars and a million red vines.
Any Atlanta folks interested in a split? I’d take 6 or 4 bottles if anyone else wants in.
It’s always appreciated when a Lab Rat e-mail arrives.
My thanks to David, Alice, and the entire Casemates team for continuing this program and supporting the logistics that go behind it.
Today’s offering is a 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon (cab) from Glassblower with impressive pedigree, 100% fruit sourced from the Oak Knoll District. I drink a lot of Pinot Noir, so it is important to preface this review that if I am going to be drinking a “heavier than accustomed wine”, like a cab, I will be pairing it with food, probably BBQ. Also, if I am going to drink a cab, out of respect to a particular fellow CM who would claim infanticide of most cab consumed under ten years of age, I would age the bottle. Duty calls however and this grainy cork must be popped.
On initial PNP, straight from the fridge (57 degrees) I detect bell pepper on the nose and the taste is jammy, not complex, and in my belief needs time to aerate and acclimate closer to room temperature. Over the course of the next 90 minutes, the bottle opens up, with finish flavor profiles of bing cherry and a light scent of dark chocolate. The wine is not overly tannic, which makes sense for a 2023 cab already bottled.
We paired with steak, baked potato, and green beans, the bottle was consumed by the end of dinner.
The case price of this is a no brainer considering fruit pedigree and we are just over ninety days away from kickoff of summer BBQ season.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations.)
2023 Glassblower Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon - $35 = 17.94%
Tried to find a little “winery” background. Not saying good or bad but this label is apparently owned/trademarked by Sonoma Bespoke Beverages. Fairly new company, 2016, that acquired Steelbird Cellars, a custom bottling facility/custom wine bottling service in 2024. Steelbird is/was part of Don Sebastiani & Sons, hence Don in the youtube blurb above. Bespoke recently filed for trademarks on approx 30 wine labels/names of which Glassblower is one of them. Trademark was applied for June '24 and was just approved for publication Feb 4 '25.
https://www.sonomabespokebeverages.com/wines/
https://www.trademarkia.com/owners/sonoma-bespoke-llc?page=1&hideCountryFilter=true
https://steelbirdcustomwineproduction.com/custom-wine-services
fwiw
@kaolis this was my thought without the research. No details on the vineyard these grapes are from and no mention of winemaker. Such a young bottling makes me nervous it will actually hold up with age.
@kaolis I have so many questions. Where in the valley, right above Napa(city) in that basin? Is that a great area for a deep cab? Stoked for newer vintners. Interested in the pedigree. I worry that those grapes didn’t get enough. After some years of floods, cut the loses and make a leese. Enjoy that flavor.
sending a 4-pack to my parents seems like a great way to make use of my membership fee.