2023 Scarecrow Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford

The 100% Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 Scarecrow is one for the ages, built around a core of dry-farmed vines planted in 1945. Slightly herbal nuances weave in and out of perfectly ripened black cherries, underscored by hints of crushed stone. And while the wine is full-bodied, creamy and seductive, it offers incredible opulence without any sense of heaviness, supported effortlessly by fine-grained tannins. Hints of licorice, mocha and black olives on the finish only add to the web of complex flavors and textures, punctuated by tremendous length. (May 2026)

The 2023 vintage of Scarecrow is a blend of 99% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Petit Verdot, sourced entirely from the J.J. Cohn estate in Rutherford. Aged for 21 months in 70% new French oak and bottled unfined and unfiltered, it is, quite simply, drop-dead gorgeous in 2023. The wine is seamless, propelled by profoundly mineral-rich tannins and extraordinary flavour intensity. Super-dark black and red fruits dominate, delivered with striking fragrance – Luxardo cherry, spiced plum, and the sensation of biting into perfectly ripe stone fruit as the flavours burst across the palate. There is a tactile crunch of cherry-skin tannin, the structure deeply layered and dusted with unsweetened cocoa powder and wrapped in rich loamy earth. Notes of salted dark chocolate and crushed cocoa nibs build through an immensely long, full-bodied finish. When asked whether it recalled great vintages of the past, winemaker Celia Welch suggested it may share something with 2013 in its rich, generous tannins, while also nodding to 2007 – though here rendered fresher and more vibrant in fruit profile.