2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Calarcadia Vineyard
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The Vineyardist's 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Calarcadia Vineyard was cropped at just 1.75 tons per acre, yielding a full-bodied wine that's not the most nuanced effort, but is undeniably big, rich and powerful. Cherries, cassis, vanilla and cedar mark the nose—it spent 20 months in new French oak—while the wine is velvety and long on the finish. If it can add some complexity as it ages without losing the texture that makes it so appealing now, I could see this adding a couple of points in a decade's time.
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Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
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There are just 321 cases of the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Calarcadia Vineyard, which has a more up-front, sexy style compared to the more inward, mineral-laced Heritage Ridge release. Blue fruits, cassis, violets, and chocolate are just some of its nuances, and it’s full-bodied, with a deep, layered, mouth-filling texture, incredible purity of fruit, and perfect tannins. Just pure Diamond Mountain magic., it will most likely warrant a triple digit rating in 5-6 years and have 2-3 decades of overall longevity.
The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Calarcadia Vineyard is a regal wine; maybe the most sublime wine ever off the estate. Deceptive in its mid-weight structure, the 2018 is just exquisite. Silky, floral and gracious, the 2019 is finely cut from start to finish. Bright saline notes extend the finish. More than anything else, though, I am just shocked by how finessed the tannins are for such a young mountain Cabernet.
The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Calarcadia Vineyard is the most elegant, nuanced wine I have ever tasted from The Vineyardist. Even today, tasted from barrel in a sample shipped across the country, the 2019 is bursting at the seams with class and pedigree. Blackberry jam, gravel, chocolate, crème de cassis and lavender build as this sumptuous, racy Cabernet Sauvignon shows off its total allure. This is the first vintage to incorporate a newer block at the very top of the property.