2019 Cabernet Sauvignon, Joseph Phelps, Napa Valley

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

Blackberry and light dried fruit with oyster-shell undertones. It’s full-bodied with round, lightly chewy tannins that nicely accentuate the fruit character. Walnuts and wet earth. Delicious now, but better in two or three years.

Starting with the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley, which is a no-brainer cuvée in most vintages, it reveals a dense purple hue to go with classic Napa Cabernet notes of ripe blackcurrants, scorched earth, lead pencil, chalky minerality, and a touch of spice box. Rich, medium to full-bodied, and beautifully balanced, with silky tannins, it's a classic, concentrated, yet elegant style of Cabernet Sauvignon that will deliver the goods for two decades if properly stored. It way over-delivers. The blend is 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot and Malbec, aged 18 months in just under 50% new French and American oak. 40,000 cases.

The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon is a blend of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot and 1% Malbec. It is due to age in oak for 18 months, in 48% new (58% French, 42% American) and 52% two-year-old French and American oak barrels. Deep garnet-purple in color, it rolls effortlessly out of the glass with beautifully pure notes of fresh black plums, black cherries and crushed blackcurrants plus hints of cinnamon stick, tobacco leaf and charcoal. Medium to full-bodied, the palate hits the ground running with expressive black fruits and soft, supple tannins, lifted by just enough freshness and finishing pleasantly savory. 40,000 are due to be made. (Tasted as a barrel sample.)