2016 True Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
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Tasting notes
19 months in 90% new French oak. 676 cases. Deep crimson. Some evolution at the rim. Tighter than the Immigrant blend on the nose. Pure and very directed. Quite a bit of acidity. A tad rigid. But well-crafted and a big step up from the Outpost Cabernet Sauvignon. (JR)
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
James Suckling
More reviews and scores
This is a rich, tannic red with lots of chewy and polished tannins. Blueberry, blackcurrant and crushed-stone character. Layers of fruit and tannins. A muscular and intense wine.
Coming from the nine-acre True Vineyard up on Howell Mountain and produced from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, the deep purple-black colored 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon True Vineyard strides confidently out of the glass with incredible poise and pedigree: warm cassis, blackcurrant cordial, baker’s chocolate, licorice and truffles commingled with hints of underbrush, violets, woodsmoke and stewed plums plus a waft of fragrant earth. Full-bodied, concentrated and built like a brick house, it has wonderfully firm, ripe, grainy tannins with a fantastic line of seamless freshness and a powerful, multilayered expression of place coming through on the epically long finish. A decadent beauty right now, this is going to be even more mind-blowing in 15 to 20+ years, and it should go on for 40 or more. 531 cases were made.
Another heavenly wine from this estate is the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon True Vineyard, 100% varietal from three blocks in the vineyard that was aged in 80% new French oak. Possessing truly thrilling purity in its crème de cassis and blueberry fruits, white flowers, and obvious minerality, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a layered, multi-dimensional texture, and building yet fine, polished tannins. This beauty has real Howell Mountain character, a complex, nuanced, yet powerful style, and a finish that won’t quit. Get it if you can.