Cabernet Sauvignon
2018
$115.00*
4 case(s) available
In the late 60s, Joseph Phelps was running one of the largest construction companies in the U.S. when he won the bid to build Souverain Winery (now Rutherford Hill) located a few miles outside of St. Helena. Enamored with the beautiful Napa Valley and contemplating a career change, in 1973 he bought the 600-acre Connolly cattle ranch in Spring Valley, and began planting vineyards. The winery was completed in 1974 and that same year the first Syrah was made, the first grapes were crushed at the...
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The 2018 growing season in Napa Valley was marked by cool, mild weather. The cooler than normal spring delayed budbreak, bloom and veraison by two weeks compared to the previous several years. The mild weather pattern in August and September allowed for an extended hang time during harvest allowing exceptional and complex flavor development and overall fruit quality for the vintage.
The wine was aged for eighteen months in 40% new oak (49% French, 51% American) and 60% one- to two-year-old French and American barrels before bottling. The coopers included Ermitage, François Frères, Demptos (French & American), Canton (American), Dargaud Jaegle, Orion and Taransaud. A wine of great energy, length, and finesse, 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon opens.
A wine of great energy, length, and finesse, 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon opens with floral notes, cedar and pencil shavings followed by ripe blackberry, cassis and red currant jam. Fresh and focused with pleasing acid and tannin structure building tension along the palate to the lingering finish.
The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley) is bright, punchy and full of energy. Sweet red berry, mocha, licorice, spice, menthol and a kiss of new French oak all grace the 2018. Plummy and pliant, the 2018 will drink well right out of the gate, but it has the pedigree to develop nicely for a number of years. Most of this fruit is sourced from vineyards in the southern end of the valley.
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The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon is a blend of 97% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Cabernet Franc and 1% Malbec, coming from vineyard locations in south Napa Valley, St. Helena, Oak Knoll District and Stags Leap District. It was aged for 18 months in 40% new (51% American, 49% French) and 60% one- to two-year-old French and American oak barrels. Deep garnet-purple colored, it does pirouettes out of the glass with notes of crushed blackberries, wild blueberries and ripe blackcurrants plus hints of lilacs, menthol, forest floor and pencil shavings with a touch of wild sage. Medium-bodied, the palate is as intense as it is elegant, featuring layers of fresh black and blue fruits and gentle herbal accents, framed by firm, grainy tannins and plenty of freshness, finishing long and minerally.
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