Vine Hill Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon VHR Oakville 2019

Decanter
Fresh, enticing aromas of sappy red and black fruits, leather, sandalwood, cassis, violets and sweet cedar. Gorgeous on entry, brimming with elegance in its finely delineated fruit notes that lead with blackberry, and black cherry morphing into tangy red fruit and currants. Featherweight fine-grained tannins are almost powdery; a wealth of savoury mineral character floods the mid-palate like liquified granite. And it keeps giving, revealing wild herbs, sagebrush, bittersweet chocolate and brown spices. One of the more elegant 2019 Napa Cabs in this concentrated, dark-fruited vintage, with beautiful structure and a freshness that remains present in every single sip.

Vinous
The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon tastes like a barrel sample, such is its purity of fruit and lushness! It is perhaps the most opulent wine ever made here and therefore likely to require a number of years before it is even close to being ready to drink. Primary fruit and lush contours are front and center. The 2019 needs time to come together, and yet its sheer beauty is impossible to miss. The 2019 is a real head turner, that much is clear. Even today, though, the 2019 is outrageously beautiful.

Wine Enthusiast
This red is beautifully rich and supple in red fruit, polished tannin and a depth of layered complexity. It is broad and generous, with complexity to age and fresh, lasting acidity that illuminates and energizes the palate. Enjoy from 2029–2039.

Wine Spectator
This Oakville stunner is loaded with cassis, plum reduction and boysenberry pâte de fruit aromas and flavors, all allied to a deeply embedded iron spine. Singed alder and apple wood notes frame the edges, while sparkles of anise, violet and bramble add range and textual nuance. Reveals a great tug of earth late on the finish, with the fruit still dripping at the very end. Built for the cellar. Best from 2024 through 2040. 1,200 cases made.