The entire spectrum of Cabernet Sauvignon fruit flavors is present and accounted for, from red cherries and raspberries through blueberries, to purple plums, black cassis and marion berries, for remarkable complexity. A floral perfume of dried roses, violets and lavender is already jumping out of the glass. Signature Rutherford Dust minerality joins baking spices, notes of cocoa, dried thyme, and a whiff of tar and anise. Tannins that are firm and grippy, though velvety, lend structure and mouthfeel. It is going to be a lot of fun watching this wine over time.
The 2019 vintage might be something of an outlier for Cathy Corison, who picked two weeks later than usual, taking advantage of the cool season from summer into fall. This wine is, in fact, an idealized version of her bench land cabernet sauvignon, holding on to the elegance she regularly achieves, while adding a luscious textural beauty that more often comes from bottle age. James Conley of NYC’s Keen’s Chophouse found the aroma suggested a more delicate wine than the density and extract this one carries in its “cabernet grape tannins and intriguing, lifted fruit. If someone said, ‘I love Napa, but show me what I’m missing.’ I’d say, ‘Well, try this.’” Warm and explosive in its energy, this wine carries an imprint of the bench land soils in the play of darkness and light, in the detailed tannins that make you crave another taste.