Classic mountain Cab, this wine expresses cassis, chocolate, black cherry, mint, coffee and black tea notes. The palate is lush and uber-concentrated, with just enough acidity to add a liveliness to the texture and plenty of supple tannin for both a long smooth finish and long-term aging potential.

The 2016 vintage, in contrast to its contemporaries 2015 and 2017, was entirely drama-free. Excellent weather from bud-break through harvest contributed to the development of grapes that achieved full physiological ripeness. The vintage concluded smoothly, with cabernet sauvignon grapes night-harvested between October 7th and October 28th. Twenty-one individual wine lots were fermented in stainless steel vats for 14 – 25 days and were then gently pressed to French oak barrels, 50% new, for 19 months of barrel aging. During the assembly of the final blend, 7% Merlot from our Lower Mountain Top vineyard block (which is the primary source of our Vintner Select Merlot and Reserve Claret wines) and 5% Petit Verdot were selected to add roundness, red fruit notes, spice, and acidity.

Jeb Dunnuck – 94 Points

The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon is a beauty and is certainly worth seeking out. Deep black fruits, smoke tobacco, scorched earth and graphite notes all emerge from the glass. It’s medium to full-bodied, has terrific purity of fruit, sweet tannins, and the balance to evolve for 15 years or so.

Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate – 93 Points