2019 Joseph Phelps Cabernet Sauvignon PNV
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Tasting notes
The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon boasts lovely cigar box-like French oak, with delicate touches of cedar and vanilla accenting black cherries and cassis. Medium to full-bodied, this is ripe and approachable but not soft or flabby. Concentrated and structured, it's a solid "entry-level" Napa Cab, simultaneously juicy and velvety on the finish. It's a blend of multiple vineyards, from Calistoga down nearly to Coombsville.
Critic scores
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
Tom Parker MW, jancisrobinson.com
More reviews and scores
94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Merlot, 1% Malbec. Big, bold and smoky with powerful cassis fruit, this is quintessential Napa. The cassis dominates the palate together with plentiful, but ripe, tannins at the core. Kirsch and baking spices on a long, slightly warming and seductive finish. (TP)
2019 was a respite vintage in Napa after a series of droughts and wildfires, and this is a lovely wine. Inky and concentrated, signature Napa in its tar, tapenade, chocolate, powerful dark fruits, muscular tannins. The first vintage to include fruit from the new Joseph Phelps vineyard named El Venadito, located in the Oak Knoll District. Owned by LVMH at time of release, but made under the Phelps family for this vintage. 48% new oak (58% French, 42% American).
The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley) is absolutely gorgeous. Succulent red cherry, red plum, mocha, spice and leather are front and center. Soft contours and silky plush tannins give the 2019 its tremendous immediacy and overall appeal. The 2019 is a superb wine in its peer group.
About the producer
California winery Joseph Phelps is best known for its flagship Insignia cuvée, one of the first and finest proprietary red wines in the Napa Valley.