2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Sleeping Lady Vineyard
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Tasting Notes
In Phelps’s words, 2016 was “a classic Napa vintage”; the weather was warm at the end of June, allowing the vines to focus on fruit ripening, while autumn brought cooler weather. Phelps harvested from 7th October, fermenting in 21% new French oak (the rest in stainless steel), with a total of 19 days on skins prior to maturation for 18 months in 65% new French oak. It has always had “a seamlessness”, Phelps noted, and that’s certainly true tasting the wine. The nose offers sweet, dark fruit, graphite purity and hints of lifted florals as well as an herbaceous edge. The palate is linear and pure, with mouthwatering acidity and a savoury core of ripe fruit, sweet cassis and ripe tannins that provide a drying grip on the finish. Although the oldest of this mini-vertical, it almost feels the youngest and will certainly benefit from additional time in bottle. A blend of 56% Clone 7 and 44% Clone 191 Cabernet Sauvignon.
Critic Scores
Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent
More reviews and scores
The 2016 Sleeping Lady was aged for 19 months in 75% new French oak. This 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from the iconic Sleeping Lady Vineyard in Yountville is remarkably expressive and fresh, with bright cherry fruit and an incredible spicy richness of coriander, accented by a hint of white truffle, charcuterie, and cedarwood. Medium-bodied on the palate, with silken, super-fine tannins, blackcurrants, loamy earth, and liquorice, all building toward the finish, gaining volume and intensity. There's a superb balance of concentration and levity, with a long finish marked by graphite minerality. This is in a remarkable place.
The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon is deep garnet with a hint of purple. It is closed to being and needs some time and swirling to reveal blackcurrant cordial, baked black plums, and boysenberry scents, plus touches of cedar, underbrush, and cardamom. Full-bodied, concentrated, and yet with compelling freshness, the palate is framed by ripe, rounded tannins, finishing long and light on its feet.
From an up-and-coming vineyard that’s producing some spectacular wines these days, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Sleeping Lady Vineyard offers terrific crème de cassis, violets, graphite, and tobacco notes as well as a full-bodied, seamless, impeccably balanced style on the palate. It shows the purity and elegance of the vintage yet has plenty of oomph. Based on 100% Cabernet Sauvignon aged 18 months in 70% new oak, drink it any time over the coming two decades.
About the producer
Ad Vivum is a tiny Napa project from winemaker Chris Phelps, previously of Dominus and Caymus. Created in 2007, Phelps makes one wine, exclusively from two blocks in the Sleeping Lady vineyard, the southernmost site in Yountville.