2016 Lore Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
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Tasting notes
High above the Rudd Winery in the eastern hills of Oakville, Lore Vineyard is a steep, rocky site with multiple afternoon exposures. Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Lore Vineyard is a little closed to begin, slowly unfurling to reveal notions of freshly crushed blackcurrants, redcurrant jelly, minted blackberries and mulberries plus wafts of espresso, chocolate-covered cherries, licorice and violets. Full-bodied and very firm, with wonderfully ripe, grainy tannins and seamless freshness, the palate is packed with muscular fruit, finishing long and layered. This should age fantastically! 232 cases were made.
Critic scores
Jeb Dunnuck
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Another legendary wine from Thomas Rivers Brown, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Lore Vineyard matches the perfect 2015 and is as good as Cabernet Sauvignon gets. Reminding me a great vintage of Schrader’s Old Sparky, its deep purple color is followed by a sumptuous, other-worldly bouquet of crème de cassis, blueberries, violets, spring flowers, and camphor. Full-bodied and powerful, it’s the purity of fruit, poise, and balance that make this wine so special. With fine tannins and no hard edges, it satisfies both the intellectual and hedonistic parts of the brain and is magical stuff. As with the Herb Lamb release, you can drink it any time over the coming 20-25+ years. The entire lineup from Rivers Marie is stunning across the board and readers really can’t go wrong here.
The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Lore Vineyard is sensational. Dark, powerful and explosive, the 2016 expresses all the best this rugged hillside site has to offer. Graphite, crushed rocks, menthol, licorice, smoke and dark spice explode from the glass. In most vintages, the Lore is massively tannic, but the 2016 has tremendous purity of fruit and exceptional balance. It is one of the best – maybe the best – Rivers-Marie Cabernet I have ever tasted.
The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Lore Vineyard comes across as incredibly raw and not fully put together, which is not really all that surprising given the personality of this rugged hillside site. A rush of mineral-drenched nuances saturates the palate in a wine that is embryonic at this stage. Even so, there is plenty to look forward to.