For decades, Frog’s Leap had a goal: Produce a Rutherford AVA Estate-grown Cabernet Sauvignon. Inspired by the early Cabernets of Inglenook and Beaulieu Vineyard, they spent 20 years finding and farming highly sought-after land in Rutherford, with particular attention to the iconic Rutherford Bench. This stretch of land, resting on the fast-draining gravel bed of a long-gone river, is not really a bench at all. (There is little question that this is some of Napa’s most prized real estate, though.)

It all began with the acquisition of the Red Barn Vineyard in 1994, the official move to Rutherford. This prime location provided a century-old facility and 40 acres perfectly suited to Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Immediately following the move, Frank Leeds, longtime Frog’s Leap vineyard manager, agreed to a partnership between Frog’s Leap and his family’s Chavez Leeds Vineyard. This generational vineyard situated on the Rutherford Bench gave the first real taste of how complex and connected dry-farmed, organically-grown Cabernet Sauvignon could be.

In 2007, the Frog’s Leap purchased the historic Rutherford Bench Rossi Vineyard. Now mostly planted to Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, the 50 acre Rossi Vineyard completed the picture by yielding high quality Rutherford grapes. The winery had achieved its goal of an entirely estate-grown Cabernet Sauvignon that can stand the test of time.

“Dry-farmed Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc grapes are aged 20 months in mostly neutral French oak barrels. Unfined and unfiltered. A rather dark, meaty, and savoury expression from this iconic Rutherford Estate helmed by founder and proprietor John Williams. Opaque ruby in colour shows black olive, dusty earth, and graphite. Medium-bodied and intensely perfumed on the palate, wit builds in elegance, almost defying its rather muscular aromatic profile. Fresh, balanced, quite complex, and quite cellar-worthy.”
95 points, Jonathan Cristaldi, Decanter, May 2024

“Well-rounded, fruit-driven and chalky. The nose expresses aromas of blackberries, sweet cherries and earth. It’s medium- to full-bodied with fine tannins. Mellow with a fruity and chewy finish. Try after 2025.”
91 points, James Suckling, March 2024