2018 Bevan Cabernet Sauvignon Saunders Vineyard
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Tasting notes
The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Saunders Vineyard was aged for 19 months in French oak barrels, 100% new. Deep garnet-purple colored, it needs a fair bit of coaxing to reveal notes of black raspberries, Morello cherries and blackcurrant cordial with hints of menthol, unsmoked cigars and fallen leaves. Full-bodied, with a firm, grainy texture, it has bright freshness lifting the red and black fruit layers to a good long finish. 308 cases were made.
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Average Score
Robert Parker
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
Lots of blueberries, cassis, candied violets, and chocolate notes emerge from the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Saunders Vineyard. This exotic, full-bodied beauty has a deep, layered mouthfeel, ripe tannins, and a terrific sense of elegance paired with power. Showing more classic floral and sappy herb notes as it sits in the glass, it’s going to evolve for 20 years or more.
The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Saunders Vineyard is one of the very best wines I have tasted from Bevan. That is bittersweet, as Victoria De Crescenzo and Russell Bevan sold Saunders at the end of 2019. As for the wine, it is magnificent. Dramatic and explosive, the Saunders captures all the intensity that is typical of this hillside Oakville site. Blackberry jam, leather, mocha, new leather and a whole range of mineral inflections build into the towering finish. What a wine!
A brilliant, towering wine, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Saunders Vineyard is one of many highlights in this range of 2018s from Russell Bevan. In the glass, the 2018 possesses striking aromatic presence along with the extraordinary purity that seems to come so naturally in this rugged hillside site. The 2018 is insanely beautiful. I don't know what else to add.