2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Backus Vineyard
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Tasting notes
Located on Silverado Trail, across from Tench, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Backus Vineyard is a superb example of its eastern Oakville site. Classic cassis and cigar box notes are joined by touches of vanilla, sage and bay leaf on the nose, while the palate is full-bodied, structured and tannic, with a firm, dusty finish that lingers effortlessly. This year, the blend is 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Petit Verdot and 3% Malbec, all (as usual) co-fermented and aged in 100% new French oak.
Critic scores
Average Score
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
Just about pure perfection, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Backus Vineyard is a stunning, heavenly bottle of Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. Deeper hued than the Insignia, it has a Pauillac-like bouquet of ripe blackcurrants, cassis, scorched earth, lead pencil, and smoked tobacco. This carries to a deep, layered, multi-dimensional, and full-bodied beauty with perfectly integrated acidity and tannins, flawless balance, ripe yet seamless tannins, and a great finish.
The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Backus Vineyard dazzles right out of the gate. Rich and sumptuous to the core, the 2019 is such a great example of this Oakville site. Inky dark fruit, new leather, spice, menthol, licorice and espresso all build in the glass. Soft and velvety, with no hard edges, the 2019 is positively stellar. The new oak is just a bit prominent. Otherwise, this is beautifully done.
The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Backus Vineyard is packed with black fruit, mocha, spice, leather and menthol. Rich and exotic, with tons of sheer voluptuousness, the 2019 is going to need time to shed some of its baby fat, but that won't be much of an issue as readers should not be thinking about drinking this for at least a few years after it is released.
About the producer
California winery Joseph Phelps is best known for its flagship Insignia cuvée, one of the first and finest proprietary red wines in the Napa Valley.