2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Stones No.1
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Coming from the Las Piedras Vineyard, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Stones No. 1 offers more black fruits, camphor, crushed rocks and graphite, with an almost Haut Brion-like cold fireplace character. It’s another full-bodied, seamless, layered wine from this estate that ticks all the right boxes. With building tannins, a multi-dimensional texture, thrilling purity, and a huge finish, it’s up with some of the top wines in the vintage and is an awesome, awesome wine.
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Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Stones No. 1, from Las Piedras, has really come together beautifully over the last year. Vertical and imposing, the 2016 possesses tremendous richness in every dimension. Black cherry, menthol, licorice, graphite, cured meat and dark spice all develop in the glass. Above all else, winemake Philippe Melka has done a great job in taming some of the imposing Las Piedras tannins. This fabulous and alluring wine from Larry Fairchild.
Fruit for the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Stones No. 1 comes from the Las Piedras vineyard in St. Helena and was aged in 85% new 225-liter French oak barrels for 20 months. Very deep garnet-purple colored, it has wonderful purity of cassis, fresh black plums and crushed blackberries notes with touches of lavender, mocha, cigar box, underbrush and fungi plus a waft of rose hip tea. Full-bodied and firm with very fine-grained tannins supporting the generous, wonderfully vibrant fruit layers, it finishes long and perfumed. 290 cases produced.
A huge, tannic wine, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Stones No. 1 possesses stunning concentration and pure power. Readers will have to be patient, as the 2016 needs time to shed some of its fat. Super-ripe black cherry, game, crushed rocks, menthol, licorice, smoke and cured meat hit the palate. This is another super-distinctive wine from Larry Fairchild.