Vine Hill Ranch - VHR Cabernet Sauvignon 2019

The Wine Advocate: "Even better than the stunning 2018, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon evokes darker-skinned berries, hinting at black cherries and cassis, while still showing the vineyard's earthy-loamy side. It's a full-bodied, plush wine, with great concentration, a rich, velvety texture and a long, elegant finish that seems to linger for several minutes. Wow!"

Decanter: "Fresh, enticing aromas of sappy red and black fruits, leather, sandalwood, cassis, violets and sweet cedar. Gorgeous on entry, brimming with elegance in its finely delineated fruit notes that lead with blackberry, and black cherry morphing into tangy red fruit and currants. Featherweight fine-grained tannins are almost powdery; a wealth of savoury mineral character floods the mid-palate like liquified granite. And it keeps giving, revealing wild herbs, sagebrush, bittersweet chocolate and brown spices. One of the more elegant 2019 Napa Cabs in this concentrated, dark-fruited vintage, with beautiful structure and a freshness that remains present in every single sip."

Jeb Dunnuck: "Even better, yet certainly in the same mold as the 2014, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon VHR is straight-up heavenly stuff, and I suspect it will warrant another point in 5-7 years. This deep purple-hued effort has a great nose of cassis, redcurrants, dried herbs, and tobacco, with some background chocolaty oak. Deep, full-bodied, concentrated, and mouth-filling, it has a seamless texture, velvety tannins, and the balance to evolve for over two decades. It doesn’t get much more classic Oakville."

Lisa Perrotti-Brown: "Deep purple-black colored, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon slowly unfurls, revealing a gregariously fruity personality of juicy blueberries and fresh black cherries to start. With patience and swirling, a core of black currant jelly, violets, cracked black pepper, eucalyptus, and tilled soil emerges. Full-bodied, firm, and impressively structured, the palate has super-ripe, fine-grained tannins and bags of black fruits sparked by floral and mineral nuances, finishing with epic length and energy. Composed of 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, 1200 cases were made."

James Suckling: "Flowers and brambleberries on the nose, together with lavender and sandalwood. Very perfumed. Full-bodied, yet very tight and polished, with gentle, graceful sensibility that shows through clearly and subtly. The tannins are soft and focused, providing finesse and a fine texture that runs the length of the wine. Very attractive now, but even better in 2025."

Wine Enthusiast: "This red is beautifully rich and supple in red fruit, polished tannin and a depth of layered complexity. It is broad and generous, with complexity to age and fresh, lasting acidity that illuminates and energizes the palate. Enjoy from 2029–2039."

Wine Spectator: " This Oakville stunner is loaded with cassis, plum reduction and boysenberry pâte de fruit aromas and flavors, all allied to a deeply embedded iron spine. Singed alder and apple wood notes frame the edges, while sparkles of anise, violet and bramble add range and textual nuance. Reveals a great tug of earth late on the finish, with the fruit still dripping at the very end. Built for the cellar. Best from 2024 through 2040. 1,200 cases made."

Jancis Robinson: "Blackish crimson. Thick, plummy nose with floral top notes – aromatic signature not so obvious in this vintage. Round and gentle with some freshness and energy. Sweet blackberry notes with a fine tannic charge underneath. Very nice wine but a bit less recognisably VHR."