14 Hands, Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley

14 Hands · Washington › Columbia Valley › United States of America

Red · Cabernet Franc Cabernet Sauvignon

At 14 Hands, our winemaker Keith Kenison takes a practical approach to winemaking—really letting the fruit express itself with as few manipulations as possible. Making wines that people enjoy drinking is the ultimate goal, so many decisions are made throughout the winemaking process based purely on taste. In the end result are wines that are smooth and fruit-forward, yet bold and complex.

Critics

91 /100

Reviews

professional

Vintages

No vintages

No vintage-specific entries have been added for this wine.

Community Reviews

Reviews

91.6

Avg Score

100

Highest

I'm a bit surprised by many ho-hum reviews. This bottle was excellent. Better after decanted for 1+ hours. Very Bordeaux like, lots of funk and I wouldn't want any more. Ripe mixed berry, loads of acidity, a touch of tobacco and earth. Better with food. I'm in no rush to open my other bottle.

2005 vintage

90 minute decant - a wine that is elegantly showing its age. Fruits have receded, tannins integrated. Tertiary flavors detected. A good wine that was very pleasant, but not ground breaking. Perhaps slightly past its prime. Drink

2007 vintage

Year 12 and this wine is singing. Plenty of structure and fruit to go another 5-7 years but I think it’s at its peak right now. Rich, dark fruits, long finish, medium tannins. 14.9 alcohol - higher than I expected but well integrated. Screams for a ribeye

2013 vintage

Very good Napa cab, bold, smooth, would buy again

2013 vintage

wasn't my favorite cab but a solid wine nonetheless. Dark fruit jam with a long, smooth finish

2009 vintage

Drinking GREAT right now. One of our favorite wines to consume in the last few months.

2013 vintage

Beautiful

2009 vintage

Time has served this well, as the fruit has emerged, with a freshness I found impressive. Dark fruit, velvety and persistent. The oak is well integrated at this point. Further upside with a few more years’ patience, I suspect.

2007 vintage

Decanted 2 hours. Deep ruby red color with fairly concentrated fruit: plum, black raspberry, red currant, strawberry jam with hint of oak and mild spice. Nice velvety mouthfeel with long finish. Tannins are soft and well integrated. Paired with marinated grilled lamb chops.

2007 vintage

Maintaining deep color and vibrancy. A little hot but with solid, round fruit and a good finish. Notes of plum, black cherry. Moderate tannins. Opened up over the course of an hour. Some sediment and a crumbly cork -- decanting is a good idea.

2007 vintage

1.5L. Score is on day 6. Double decanted on day 1 and it was tight and closed. By day 6 this blossomed into a wonderful wine. Deep, lush, balanced. It took a while but was worth it.

2009 vintage

Dark red color. Finessed red fruit on the nose. Cherry and blueberry fruit on the palate with a little peppery spice on the finish. Very nice structure and elegant mouthfeel. Very good now, but still seems like it will age well over the next few years.

2013 vintage

Ruth’s birthday Great wine. It has years to go. Love you Ruth.

2009 vintage

Nice PnP.

2013 vintage

The big hit of our Christmas dinner! Paired with filet and roasted potatoes. Outstanding

2013 vintage

I am always so conflicted when judging these Napa cabs made to chase after that "cult" profile. Your impression of this wine will be very dependent on whether you have an Old World, or New World palate. This wine is drinking like a better Caymus, or Silver Oak Cab right now. A popular wine profile, but not my favorite. The 7&8 estate vineyard is located at the highest point on Spring Mtn., but it doesn't drink like wine from mountain …

2007 vintage

Nice deep dark berry nose. Dark berry fruit, little oak, chocolate, luscious, smooth, silky. Absolute stunner. Long finish. Wonderful drinking wine. Delectable! A real treat-- one that will be remembered for a while!

2009 vintage

Beautiful nose, brief flash of tartness or bitterness on the tongue that disappeared quickly in the glass before we could really describe it. Nice round tannins, solid structure with red fruits and just enough oak for balance. Definitely had OMG factor. Still drinking very well. Paired well with grilled garlic/lime marinated lamb chops and grilled polenta cakes.

2013 vintage

Wow!! Soft, smooth, concentrated dark fruit with fine tannins. Perfect minerality. Must be a perfectly aged bottle. Shocked at the perfection of this wine right now, but still has more years in it.

2007 vintage

Nose: Covid Taste: chocolate, cassis, blackberry jam, really great to just let this sit in your mouth and savor it. I feel a little guilty drinking it but the long finish allows you to relish it. Wow, this is realllly good.

2009 vintage

Still drinking very nicely, with dark fruit, earth and herb flavors. Smooth texture, nice finish.

1999 vintage

Tasted over three days, and this actually gains on me - or at least seem to gain weight. Strats out quite balanced, Bordeaux-like, but with time it's start showing more classical, Napa-power with loads of blackberries, tobacco, spice etc. Tannins still here

2005 vintage

Drank over 2 days. Was good if a little astringent.

2007 vintage

Verande E Mother's Day dinner.

2013 vintage

Too hot

2007 vintage

Got it for $35 First impression was that it wasn't living up to it's hype. After decanting it turned out to be decent and smooth if not exciting or complex. Classic Cab with no flaws but not up to Spring Mountain potential.

2005 vintage

It had lost some of its vim and spine, but it still had some good flavor, notable tannins, and a classic Cab flavor. Probably only worth if it you can buy it for under $30

2005 vintage

I found this on discount and decided to give it a try. I figured that Spring Mountain + 2005 + 89 to 92 points on wine searcher was a good omen. Decanted for 2+ hours. As I taste it I agree with some of the other reviews here. Its not complex and the fruit teases the mid pallet and then runs away. you just cant get a grip on it. I would not buy this vintage again. Best use might …

2005 vintage

1 Hour Decant. ULTRA smooth and balanced, if a tiny bit reticent. I would wait another 2-4 years at least, but in a good place now if you can decant for a couple of hours and prefer an elegant version of fruit forward. Only getting better.

2007 vintage

Nose: jammy nose of blackberries, vanilla and orchids. Taste: some light tannins and minerals, with oak and fresh berries. Really good.

2009 vintage

This is a big wine. The nose is incredibly exuberant with whiffs of tilled soil, vibrant red fruit, and vanilla from the oak. The palate is all about vibrant pomegranate, along with lots of pith and seed. Its almost like it was squeeze a bit hard, and some of th seedlings have leached into the wine, giving some bitterness that stops the score for me. The bitterness subsides as you get deeper into the bottle, or you kinda get used …

2013 vintage

Unintegrated but improved after a 30 minute decant. An hour after opening, it lost a lot of the hard tannins.

2009 vintage

This is my 6th bottle of a case. I haven't opened one since Sept 2015 (about 2 1/2 years). The tannins have receded, but it remains a youthful, structured wine. This is a wine of restraint, elegance, balance, and complexity. The mountain top fruit provides verve and minerality. LOVED this bottle. Full disclosure: my wife said "meh" (well not that exact word). Her normally sharp palate missed this one, I think.

2007 vintage

holding up well and more elegant / lithe than i remember ... will stand for another 5-10 years w/out issue imho

2004 vintage

Dark garnet with nice sustaining legs on the body of the glass. Dark black and blue fruits are prominent on the nose. This nose translates to the palette but the tannins are softer (approachable) but still give a lot of mouth feel. The end of the wine offers a chalky coating crowned by a creme brûlée creaminess with a touch of mandarin tangerine. The wine has some years left to age. This spring mountain beauty shows a very ageable side …

2009 vintage

Killer Cali Cab; amazing typicity and outstanding enjoyment for a much more palatable price than most of the big hitters (particularly for back-vintage!). Having sipped this with intrigue at a tasting, I grabbed a bottle - upon opening, I did have a slight fear that I had been swept up in the moment and that perhaps it would be tough for the wine to live up to its billing. Fortunately, all it took was one sniff, one taste, to put …

2004 vintage

Still so woody. We didn’t have the option to decant but it was much better with 1.5 hours of time open. I hope the wood mellows.

2009 vintage

Nose: vanilla, blackberries, hint of raisin.... Great Nose Taste: light tannins, long finish of raisins, anise, chocolate raisins.

2009 vintage

Enjoyed this wine last night at Waterboy in downtown Sacramento for my wife's birthday. Decanted 1.5 hrs at home, rebottled and decanted in the restaurant another 45 min. It was smooth and delicious but got even better W each glass so you should decant 3 hrs. This was a very enjoyable wine with little tannin remaining. Because of that, I recommend drinking within a year from now. If wine has not been kept cool (55 to 60 degrees) drink now …

2009 vintage

Not what I expected. Deep reddish hue, fair amount of Spring Mountain Fruit. Tannins have eased off to reveal a welcoming wine. However I though it would have aged better and retained more power

2007 vintage

Opened 45 minutes before pairing with grilled beef shish kabobs. I was a bit worried by the last 2 notes left on this wine. The interior of the capsule smells strongly of asphalt. Good cork. A dark though not quite opaque ruby in the glass, with good color out to the edges without any bricking. The nose features strong cassis, currant, black cherry, tobacco box and a touch of green bell pepper. Medium-bodied on the palate, though nearly weightless, but …

2004 vintage

It was excellent! For 5 minutes. Then it died and turned into burnt toast. After a couple hours it improved a little but not enough. Very disappointed. A waste of calories. The vodka soda tasted so much better. It would have made good gift, though. There's no way a Cabernet should be this bad at 12 years so I have to assume it is a bad bottle

2004 vintage

Amazing Spring Mountain Cabernet. Decanted 2 hours. Lush. Great nose. Who knows if worth the price but loved it for a special occasion.

2009 vintage

PNV week, great outdoor tasting hosted by Spottswoode. Was interested in checking in on this, Vineyard 7&8 is a wine I have enjoyed over the years, their 13 being shown here today. Nose a bit reticent, dark fruits and oak. This bottle maybe just opened so not much air prior to tasting..Palate showed dark fruits, blackberry jam, plums, coffee grounds . Heavy tannins, which is consistent in my experience with the 13 vintage. Oak a little heavy as well...that said, …

2013 vintage

An "11" wine. As it goes to 11. "Couldn't you make 10 louder?" " But it goes to 11!" Alcohol? Check. Fruit? Bushels of dark berry and red fruit. Tannins? By the truckload. Acidity? Like naturel champagne. This is almost porto like. So over the top but so delicious. The quintessential over extracted fabulous flashy Napa cab. Via Corbin at a very nice Italian place in Rancho Cordova, Il Forno Classico.

2007 vintage

Popped and poured, but needed a little time to open up. This has really dark color and strong black currant fruit up front and a touch of anise, but silky texture and is really well structured. Tannins are softened and it has a really long pleasant finish.

2009 vintage

Love it!

2007 vintage

This was a pop and pour wine. I have heard much praise over this wine, not to mention, it has a few years on it so why not. Floral violet nose, dark fruit, and a little chalky and slight bitterness on the palate. I let it sit a while and it gets considerably better. The dark fruit shows a pleasant, lite sweetness and the bitterness is gone. Nice legs and meniscus, dark berries, plums, bitter sweet chocolate, black tea, anise, …

2009 vintage

Black fruit, herbs, mineral flavors, and a bit earthy. Not quite 90 pts, but good.

1999 vintage

a wow wine for me - amazing nose on this, could smell it from a foot away in the glass - full throttle but balanced - a winner.

2007 vintage

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