Lisa Perrotti-Brown - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate - October 2018

“The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Vin State Lane Vineyard is deep garnet-purple colored with a lovely crème de cassis core backed-up by the most amazing perfume of lilacs, oolong tea, camphor and dark chocolate plus gentle wafts of aniseed and red currants. Medium-bodied with fantastic vibrancy and intensity, the palate practically rings with spine-tingling energy. It slowly builds in the mouth to reveal layers of red and black fruits supported by a very finely grained frame and seamless freshness, leading to a drop dead gorgeous, perfumed lift on the long finish. Sex in a glass.”

JebDunnuck.com - January 2019

"A perfect wine and a legend in the making, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Vin from the Kapcsandy family is... Reminding me of a great vintage of Château Latour with its straight-up awesome bouquet of blackcurrants, lead pencil, crushed rocks, tobacco, and graphite, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a multi-dimensional, layered, seamless texture, perfect balance, and building structure. Made in an incredibly classic style, with one foot in Bordeaux with its elegance and class and another firmly in Napa with its layered richness, it can be drunk today with incredible pleasure yet will be a 40- to 50-year wine. Hats off to this estate for such an incredible wine!"

Antonio Galloni, Vinous - December 2018

“The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Vin is incredibly aromatic, nuanced and layered. Exquisitely elegant and finessed, the 2016 is super-expressive today. Sage, mint, lavender, plum and earthy notes all run through this supremely refined, expressive Cabernet Sauvignon. Translucent and nuanced, with an almost old school sense of feel, the 2016 is positively stellar.”

Jeb Dunnuck - December 2017

The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Vin State Lane Vineyard is pure perfection and undeniably one of the greatest wines in this terrific vintage. With a Château Latour like stature and depth, full-bodied richness, and incredible notes of blue fruits, crushed violets, tobacco, forest floor, and huge minerality, this tight, backward, concentrated 2015 is for those with patience and cold cellar, but it’s a legendary wine in the making. Bravo!

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Parker’s Wine Advocate - December 2017

The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Vin State Lane Vineyard sports a deep purple-black color and has a classic nose of crushed black currants, black plums and cedar with hints of dried Mediterranean herbs, underbrush, smoked meats and cloves. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has youthful exuberance with tight-knit, muscular black fruits and spicy suggestions framed by firm, grainy tannins, finishing with great length and depth. Should age incredibly!

Robert Parker, Jr. - October 2016

Little can be added to the greatness of the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Vin, a blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot. The wine (600 cases) is truly stunning in its dense, crème de cassis and blackberry-scented nose with a hint of barbecue smoke and forest floor. Tasting like a ripe vintage of Château Latour from Pauillac, the wine has amazing richness and a savory, expansive mouthfeel, but tiptoes across the palate like a ballerina. A wine of magnificent richness and intensity, but vibrancy, purity and overall equilibrium, this is a staggeringly great wine and another tribute to the Kapcsándy family’s extraordinary professionalism and meticulous attention to detail in their vineyard.

Antonio Galloni, Vinous - December 2016

The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Vin opens with the most captivating, exquisite aromatics imaginable. A wine of arresting allure and total sensuality, the 2013 simply has it all. Today, the 2013 is a mere infant, but its personality, pedigree and overall class simply can't be denied. An exotic mélange of lavender, violet, sage, mint and wild flowers are laced into the finish.

Robert Parker, Jr. - October 2015

The perfect 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Vin State Lane Vineyard is 99% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Merlot aged 20 months in 100% new French oak. I think this is the third perfect score I’ve given to this wine, which is the essence of their vineyard, representing about 13% of the total production, or a mere 320 cases. The wine has a gorgeously opaque purple color and a beautiful nose of camphor, charcoal, blackberry and creme de cassis with licorice and truffle. It has unbelievable richness, great texture, tremendous finesse, precision and delineation. Very intense, full-bodied and super-pure, the length of the wine must be at least 50+ seconds. This is a gorgeous wine and one of the great superstars of this fabulous vintage. Drink it over the next 25-30 years. 

Antonio Galloni, Vinous - October 2015

The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Vin is a real stunner. Despite an overall impression of femininity and understatement, the 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Vin is simply dazzling. Sweet, floral and open-knit, the 2012 is nevertheless holding quite a bit back in potential. When I visited Kapcsándy during the 2012 harvest the enthusiasm was very high. This wine shows why. The blend is 99% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Merlot.

Antonio Galloni, Vinous - November 2013

The 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Vin is stunning. Dark black cherry, plum, smoke, licorice, menthol, tobacco and new leather wrap around the palate as this majestic, breathtaking wine shows off its personality, class and pure pedigree. Powerful yet elegant, delicate yet intense, the 2010 is firing on all cylinders today. Layers of fruit build to a crescendo of pure pleasure. Readers lucky enough to own the 2010 will want to cellar this beauty for at last a few years. In the meantime, though, it will be pretty impossible to resist. The blend is 95% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot.

Robert Parker, Jr. - December 2010

Another perfect wine (identical to the 2007) is the 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Vin State Lane Vineyard. Composed of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot (430 cases produced), this is an exquisite wine of great precision and profound concentration and complexity. It possesses an inky/purple color in addition to an ethereal nose of cassis, chocolate, burning embers, espresso and forest floor. Sweet tannins, a multidimensional mouthfeel, full-bodied power and good structure as well as freshness make for a prodigious example of wine that will benefit from 4-5 years of cellaring, but will keep for 25-30 years. This is an awesome effort, particularly after what the Kapcsandy family achieved in 2007.

Stephen Tanzer, "Vintage Retrospective: The 2008 Napa Valley Cabernets"

Featured on Vinous.com - May 2018

Deep ruby-red. Blacker on the nose than the Roberta's Reserve, offering aromas of cassis, blackberry, plum jam, licorice, bitter chocolate and graphite minerality. Much more clenched too and developing at a snail's pace, displaying outstanding depth and a restrained opulence to its flavors of dark fruits, licorice and minerals. The serious tannins arrive late, then build steadily and gain in sweetness. This wine, too, was made from seven-year-old vines.

Robert Parker, Jr. - December 2009

Absolutely riveting, and even better than I predicted last year is the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon - Grand Vin State Lane Vineyard. Made from 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, and the rest tiny dollops of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot (400 cases produced), in two weeks of tastings, this wine stood out as one of those singular efforts that it is impossible to get out of your mind and off of your palate. A flawless, seamless, profound example of Napa Cabernet, it exhibits an opaque purple color along with a gorgeous perfume of lead pencil shavings, cedar, creme de cassis, ink, flowers, and espresso roast. With phenomenal depth, a multidimensional personality, unbelievable length, and an impeccable integration of all its component parts, this stunning wine lasts and lasts, with a finish approaching a full minute. Give this profound wine 3-5 years of cellaring, and drink it over the following 25-30 years.

Jeb Dunnuck - December 2017

The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Vin State Lane Vineyard is one of the gems in the vintage. I continue to find a Latour-like quality in this cuvee and the 2014 boasts a deep purple color, killer notes of lead pencil, charcoal, scorched earth, crushed rocks, and loads of dark fruits. Medium to full-bodied, elegant yet concentrated, impeccably balanced and with a big finish, hide bottles for 3-4 years and enjoy over the following 2+ decades. This cuvee is 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Merlot that was brought up in plenty of new oak, and there are roughly 700 cases produced.

James Suckling - May 2017

Extremely floral and complex on the nose with cedar, blackberries, blueberries, tobacco, stones, mushrooms... I'm simply running out of words here! Full to medium body and a tight and compact center palate. This is complete and dense. Extremely long and energetic. Drink in five years but a joy to taste. One of the best ever.

Antonio Galloni, Vinous - December 2016

A powerful, tightly-wound wine, the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Vin is likely to require the better part of the next decade to come into its own. The most backward and brooding of these wines, the Grand Vin is also quite primary and closed in on itself. Still, the energy, drive and focus of the best vintages is very much in evidence. Today, the 2014 is dense, seamless and utterly impeccable, with no hard edges, beautifully integrated oak (100% new) and exceptional balance.

Jeb Dunnuck -  January 2020

The 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Vin is another Bordeaux look-alike (Latour?) with its density, structure, and regal style. It offers blackcurrant, graphite, crushed rock, and lead pencil shaving aromas and flavors and is full-bodied, supple, and seamless on the palate, with building yet perfectly polished tannins. Showing the polished, elegant style of the estate, flawless balance, and a great, great finish, it's going to keep for 30-40 years.

Antonio Galloni, Vinous - January 2020

The 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Vin is, for the first time, 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. One of the more reticent wines in this range, the Grand Vin is also going to need a bit of time to shed some of its tannic heft. Cedar, leather and spice add gorgeous aromatic complexity. Rich, brooding and quite powerful, the 2017 offers a lot of potential but it is not especially forthcoming today; that should not be an issue in time. Clearly, the pure Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Vin is a bit of a stylistic departure from the past. All the 2017 needs is patience.

Jeb Dunnuck, January 2019 

“My favorite of the barrel samples is unquestionably the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Vin, which is a rough blend of 100% Cabernet Sauvignon at this point. This is another case where the final blend might change. As textbook Cabernet Sauvignon as it gets, this sexy beauty gives up tons of cassis and black currant fruits, full body, remarkable purity of fruit, and building yet silky tannins. As with the 2016, it's going to deliver pleasure in its youth yet keep for decades.”

Antonio Galloni -  December 2018 

“The 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Vin is another promising wine from Kapcsándy. Savory, floral aromatics and silky fruit give the 2017 a sense of regal elegance. Super-ripe red cherry, kirsch, and plum fruit are all pushed forward. Today, the 2017 is remarkably primary. Medium in body and restrained, the Grand Vin is also the least expressive wine in the range today. I tasted the 2017 from barrel.”

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Advocate - December 2018

“The tentative blend of this vintage is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon—this would be the first time that Cabernet Sauvignon makes up 100% of the blend. It is aging in 90% new French oak. Deep garnet-purple colored, the barrel sample of 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Vin State Lane Vineyard reveals lovely redcurrants and wild blueberry scents with touches of violets, sautéed herbs, unsmoked cigars and red roses plus a touch of pencil shavings. Medium-bodied, firm, grainy and lively, the palate offers mineral notions with a long, layered finish featuring wonderful freshness.”

Antonio Galloni, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate - December 2012

The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Vin opens with the most beguiling bouquet imaginable. Freshly cut flowers, mint, cinnamon and licorice all make an appearance as this vivid, beautifully delineated wine opens up in the glass. A model of total finesse and elegance, the 2009 wraps around the palate with what feels like endless layers of aromas and flavors. This totally seamless, polished Cabernet Sauvignon is virtually impossible to resist today, but it will be even better in another few years. The 2009 is 96% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc. Anticipated maturity: 2017-2039.

Robert Parker, Jr. - December 2009

The 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Vin State Lane Vineyard is a 650-case blend of 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, and 1% Cabernet Franc. A candidate for “wine of the vintage,” it boasts an extraordinary perfume of lead pencil shavings, plums, licorice, black currants, and white chocolate as well as a firm, Bordeaux-like structure, good purity, and incredibly sweet fruit. It will benefit from 4-5 years of bottle age, and last for 20-25 years. Those consumers who complain about high alcohol in California Cabernets should realize that this offering possesses less than 14% alcohol.

Antonio Galloni, Vinous - November 2013

As great as the 2010 is, the 2011 isn’t too far behind. Silky, gracious tannins form the backbone in a refined, beautifully balanced Grand Vin long on class. Sweet, perfumed and utterly impeccable throughout, the 2011 is a Grand Vin simply superb. With time in the glass, the 2011 fleshes out beautifully, showing remarkable depth for the year. The 2011 is 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc. The higher percentage of Merlot is typical of a lot of blends in 2011.