2016 Pluribus Cabernet Sauvignon

Lastly, the 2016 Pluribus completes the lineup of just about pure perfection in Napa Valley Cabernet, and readers can’t go wrong with any of these 2016 Bond releases. As with the Vecina, the Pluribus is a powerful, structured wine that offers pure blue fruits (cassis, blueberries), notes of smoke tobacco, spice, and liquid rock, a full-bodied, expansive, opulent mouthfeel, and flawless balance. Its purity of fruit as well as its power, married to include finesse, sets this beauty up near the top of the pyramid. Give bottles 7-8 years of bottle age and enjoy over the following 3 decades.

Another riveting wine in this range, the 2016 Pluribus is mysterious and elusive. Each taste reveals a new dimension to its beauty. Dark red fruit, spice, tobacco, menthol and licorice give the 2016 striking perfume that is captivating. Dark and dense, with tons of fruit richness, the 2016 builds in the glass with a crescendo of aromas and flavors that add considerable nuance. I especially admire the explosive energy here. As has been the case now for the last few years, the Pluribus is at once the most complex and fascinating wine in the range because every taste seems to bring out a new facet of its personality. Wines like the St. Eden and Vecina, on the other hand, say everything right away.

Pluribus vineyard is situated on Spring Mountain, producing a sometimes broody wine in its youth with tons of latent power and energy waiting to erupt. Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2016 Pluribus is a little closed and youthfully mute to begin, slowly unfurling to offer glimpses at baked plums, crushed blackcurrants, boysenberries and redcurrant jelly plus suggestions of charcoal, black olives, Sichuan pepper and bay leaves with a waft of pain grille. Full-bodied, it has a rock-solid frame of very firm, ripe, grainy tannins and bold freshness supporting the muscular black fruit and savory accents, finishing with phenomenal length and loads of earthy layers.