Wine & Spirits - December 2019 - 48

YEAR'S BEST US CABERNETS & BLENDS
net sauvignon, merlot and cabernet franc,
this needs five or years more in the cellar to
show its best. (W&S 8/19; 310 cases) -J.G.
518518

90 | Cakebread

$160

2016 Howell Mountain Napa Valley Dancing Bear Ranch ^ From Cakebread's estate
vineyard on a ridge between 1,400 and 1,900
feet up Howell Mountain, this is cabernet
sauvignon grown in volcanic rock. It aged for
close to two years in French oak barrels, 62
percent of them new, and between the rocky
soil tannins and the oak, the wine is youthfully impenetrable. There's black cherry flavor wrapped in espresso roast scents and
equally black tannins, all of it needing time
to relax. (1,490 cases) -J.G.

M T. V E E D E R
516587

92 | Mayacamas

$125

2014 Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon ^
After transitioning from Bob Travers's long
reign at this 465-acre mountain estate, Mayacamas comes to its 125th vintage under the
organic viticultural practices of Phil Coturri
and the winemaking skills of Andy Erickson.
They continue to present the wine as a muscular, youthfully impenetrable cabernet, harvested on the early side of ripeness, requiring
long development in the cellar. It's built like
a marathon runner, austere in the power of
its mountain-grown tannins, formidable in
its foresty red-berry fruit. Dense, tight and
herbal, it needs ten to 20 years to fully reveal
itself. (W&S 6/19) -J.G.
518737

91 | Mayacamas

$125

2015 Mt. Veeder Napa Valley Cabernet
Sauvignon ^ Andy Erickson and Braiden
Albrecht made this wine, following many
of the practices set in place by Bob Travers,
including a relatively early harvest, fermentation in cement vats (along with some opentop foudres and stainless steel), and long
aging in neutral oak (20 months in foudre,
12 months in barrique). Like newly released
Mayacamas wines of the past, this 2015
makes no concessions for early drinking. It's
austere, meaty, beefy and tense, with tannins that recall the volcanic soils and conifer
forests of Mount Veeder. Concentrated and
green, this needs years to evolve in the bottle.
(2,000 cases) -J.G.
518347

90 | Hess Collection

$185

2016 Mt. Veeder Napa Valley The Lion
Cabernet Sauvignon ^ Distinctly Veeder in
its fir-tree forest scents and rustic tannins,
this is a powerful mountain-grown cabernet.
It bristles with tannic spice and the peppery
48

WINE & SPIRITS

DECEMBER 2019

bite of alcohol, youthfully potent, needing
several years of bottle age to mellow. (450
cases) -J.G.

OAK KNOLL DISTRICT
518359

92 | Materra

$185

2015 Oak Knoll District Napa Valley 1856
Cabernet Sauvignon ^ Plummy and concentrated in the middle, this wine has enough
plush fruit to completely fill its austere cabernet structure. Its tannins carry a green spice,
like fennel seed and sage, that lend detail to
their earthy flavors. Still youthfully floral,
this wine is approachable now and well worth
aging for a few years. Michael Trujillo made
this wine from a benchland parcel at the Oak
Knoll Ranch; the vines were planted in 2004.
(144 cases) -J.G.

OAKVILLE
518731

94 | Groth

$65

2016 Oakville Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ^ Cameron Parry found his cabernet
vines ripened their fruit in 2016 at Brix levels
that were lower than usual, sustaining acidity in the grapes. They produced a young and
luscious Oakville cabernet, the wine integrating oak and fruit tannins in a way that supercharges its flavors. Rather than weighing the
wine down, the structure empowers it, presenting plummy blue fruit, scents of cassis
and fruity-umami notes of mushrooms that
last, gracious, gentle and refined. -J.G.
515159

94 | Groth

$140

2015 Oakville Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon ^ Groth's Reserve Block runs north from
Oakville Cross Road along the eastern bank
of Conn Creek, just under 28 acres replanted
in 1999 and 2001. The vines produced a
bold, luscious 2015, defining Oakville in its
rich dimensions, held in check by clear and
resolute harmonies in the tannins (think
Presbyterian church music). The fresh fruit
flavors of blueberries and plums have exceptional length, ample and energized, while the
warmth of the wine begins to show after several days open. Lovely to drink on release,
this should develop well over the next several
years. (W&S 2/19; 4,900 cases) -J.G.

518610

93 | Goldschmidt

$50

92 | Robert Mondavi
Winery

$65

92 | Textbook

$79

2017 Oakville Napa Valley Lawless Cabernet Sauvignon ^ Plump and playful, this
wine's scents of cherry blossoms and flavors
of sweet black cherries fill it with brightness.
Nick Goldschmidt makes this from a dryfarmed vineyard on the Oakville Crossroad.
The fruit is ripe yet still holds some herbal
character, its notes of resinous hash adding
dimension. Generously rich, even as it's also
tart and savory, this is easy to enjoy right
now. (1,320 cases) -J.G.
517976

2015 Oakville Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ^ Mondavi's To Kalon Vineyard, in the
western benchlands of Oakville, provides 94
percent of the fruit for this wine, including
blocks dating to 1974. It's a substantial blackfruited cabernet without any excess alcohol
or extract. Instead, it feels silken, the texture
deepening to velvet as it opens past some
green reductive elements. This will benefit
from cellar time as the flavor complexities
come up to meet the lovely texture. (W&S
10/19; 4,985 cases) -J.G.
514897
2016 Oakville Page-Turner ^ Bright, clean
and refreshing, this wine's caress of cherryliqueur richness is tamped down by the green
edges of the fruit, bringing notes of strawberry leaves along with the berry flavor. It's a
saturated cabernet, bold and juicy, even as its
structure remains lean. This is mostly merlot
(79 percent) from a vineyard in the western
benchlands of Oakville, blended with cabernet sauvignon from the base of the eastern
hills. (W&S 2/19; 200 cases) -J.G.
517972

91 | Robert Mondavi
Winery

$175

2015 Oakville Napa Valley The Reserve
To Kalon Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon ^
Genevieve Janssens makes this wine from the
benchlands of To Kalon, a vineyard that has
been central to Napa Valley's cabernet success. This vintage, from a drought year, takes

https://www.goldschmidtvineyards.com

Wine & Spirits - December 2019

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