Lot 17 | 2018 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 750ml (94-Points)

Lot 17 | 2018 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 750ml (94-Points)

$75/bottle under the original label

94-POINTS! Platinum Medal
2021 Sommelier Challenge Wine Competition

Sometimes Napa Valley producers eschew trends and opt for what I’ll call an old school style – one that’s built to age and unwind slowly, revealing its charms down the road. That what’s going on in this bottling. The good news is that it’s priced in such a way as to let you enjoy its evolution over time. You won’t find wines like this at this price – so jump while you can! A Platinum Award winner at the 2021 Sommelier Challenge International Wine & Spirits Competition.
94-POINTS Oct 5, 2021

93-POINTS!
2021 Critics Challenge Wine Competition

There's real structure here, and the oak serves to enhance the fruit and make for a layered delight. A Gold Award winner at the 2021 Critics Challenge International Wine & Spirits Competition. Gold Medal.
93-POINTS Jul 6, 2021

Chosen for its approximation of St. Emilion's gravelly soils, this organically-farmed estate vineyard is sandwiched between Atlas Peak and Oak Knoll and situated on a broad, gravelly alluvial fan that straddles one of the creek drainages coming off of Atlas Peak and Mount George. With classic Bordelais-style super-dense vine spacing yielding only 3 tons/acre of intense, concentrated fruit, the resulting wine will be delicious right out of the bottle (once through bottle shock) but has the structure and stuffing to go another decade in the cellar.

Intense notes of blackberry, cassis, and bing cherry followed by layers of cigar box, toasty french oak and violets. Bold plum and ripe raspberry balanced with lively acidity and firm tannins usher in a flourish of vanilla and spice in a long, lingering finish. The tannins soften in the decanter adding subtle notes of brandied cherries and oiled leather. Well-balanced with beautifully attenuated fruit, this French pedigreed, First Growth-quality Cabernet is about as terroir-driven a wine as you'll find in Napa Valley.

Check-in tasting 6.23.21 - Hurray! This wine has gone in and out of funk with cranky, leesy aromatics and an angular palate. It has come around beautifully, however, really cracking open with cassis and raspberry and a palate staining finish…this wine is a total monster with an alluvial tannin profile that will continue to complex beautifully.

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Wine Details

90% Cabernet, 5% Merlot, 5% Petite Verdot
25% New French and American oak, tight grain, low to medium toast
14.4% Alc.
Bottled June 26th, 2020


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