2018 Aperture Cabernet Sauvignon
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Tasting notes
Full bottle 1,405 g. From four mineral-rich, volcanic-soil sites on cooler hillside slopes. Includes 7% Malbec, 5% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot. Aged for 18 months in 60-gallon French oak barrels (50% new). Concentrated crimson. Very sweet palate entry – just a bit too sweet for me – but the tannins are very well managed. Chocolate-rich with a little bit of alcoholic heat on the end. (JR)
Critic scores
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Jancis Robinson MW
James Suckling
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The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Soil Specific checks in as 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Malbec, 5% Merlot, and 2% Petit Verdot sourced from the easter hillsides of the Alexander Valle, aged 18 months in 50% new French oak. Lots of ripe black and blue fruits, damp earth, tobacco, spice, graphite, chocolate, and licorice all emerge from the glass. Medium to full-bodied, this rich, meaty, chewy, mineral-laced Cabernet has enough structure to warrant 3-4 years of bottle age. It's another beautiful, singular, concentrated yet balanced Cabernet from Katz that will evolve for two decades or more.
A nose with hints of cassis, blueberry and sweet tobacco. Full-bodied with fine tannins. Balanced with a round, creamy texture. Integrated and refined tannins with a beautiful center-palate. Long, too. Drink in 2023.
The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon, from vineyards in Alexander County, is bold and savory in the glass. Dark cherry, tobacco, iron, leather and dried herbs give the 2018 plenty of character as well as punch. The tannins are perhaps just a bit rustic. Otherwise, the 2018 is nicely done.