2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Backus Vineyard

The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Backus Vineyard is a blockbuster that does everything right, and I’m probably underrating this beauty. Incorporating a small amount of Petit Verdot and Malbec (which are always co-fermented), this deeply colored beauty gives up a massive bouquet of smoked black fruits, graphite, cassis, and tobacco leaf, with more minerality and black licorice with time in the glass. Possessing full-bodied richness, a mouthfilling decadence, sweet tannins, and a meaty, powerful style, count yourself lucky if you have any of this in the cellar. It will continue drinking beautifully for three decades or more.

The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Backus Vineyard is going to need time to recover from its recent bottling. Dense, powerful and explosive, the 2015 has so much to offer. The density and resonance of the fruit is striking. Even so, the 2015 has never been more expressive than the first time I tasted it, which makes me think that the relatively long élevage favored by Phelps may be robbing the wine of some of its freshness and adding a sheen of mocha/torrefaction notes that the wine does not really need. Admittedly, these are small critiques at this level, but I am not sure Backus is quite reaching its full potential.

The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Backus Vineyard is made up of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Malbec and 6% Petit Verdot aged for 24 months in 100% new French oak. It has a deep garnet-purple color and quite a savory/meaty nose over a core of baked plums, warm cassis, redcurrant jelly and mulberries with touches of rosemary roasted lamb, truffles, underbrush and charcoal with a touch of lavender. Full, rich, concentrated and oh-so-decadent in the mouth, the palate delivers super intense black fruit and savory layers with a rock-solid frame of grainy tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long and mineral laced. 1,200 cases produced.