2018 Memento Mori Cabernet Sauvignon Vine Hill Ranch
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Lastly, I was blown away by the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Vine Hill Ranch Vineyard, which comes from a great vineyard in Oakville. Beautiful blue fruits, liquid violets, graphite, and white flower notes all emerge from the glass, and it builds beautifully on the palate, with a full-bodied, layered, seamless texture. It’s one of those wines that just screams Cabernet and offers a terrific sense of density and richness yet still just glides across the palate, with no heaviness or rusticity. This is a gorgeous Cabernet in every way. Give bottles 3-5 years if you can and enjoy over the following two decades or more. Hats off to Sam Kaplan for a tour de force lineup of Napa Valley Cabernet!
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Jeb Dunnuck
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate
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Made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Vine Hill Ranch Vineyard was aged for 22 months in French oak, 100% new. Deep garnet-purple in color, it bounds out of the glass with bold notions of black cherries, black raspberries and boysenberries giving way to a cassis and Indian-spice core plus wafts of crushed rocks and cast iron pan. Full-bodied, the palate has a drop-dead gorgeous frame of fine-grained tannins and seamless freshness supporting the many layers of red and black fruits, finishing long and earthy. 150 cases were made. 150 cases were made.