Janny Condemine Macon-Peronne Le Clou 2016

Inglenook Rubicon  is made from 93% Cabernet Sauvignon 7% Cabernet Franc.

Since its inaugural vintage in 1978, Rubicon has been the Estate's premier red wine, reflecting the soul of the property and expressing Francis Coppola's wish to create a Bordeaux-styled grand wine, that is, "a wine that can please contemporary taste, but with a historical aspect [that defines] our vineyards at their zenith."

Rubicon was named after the small river crossed by Julius Caesar in 49 B.C., declaring his intention to gain control of Rome, thereby launching a civil war among opposing factions. Over time the phrase "crossing the Rubicon" has come to signify any irreversible action with revolutionary intent or the outcome of which holds great risk. True to its uncommon depth, Inglenook's Rubicon continues to be a testament to the finely tuned rendering of a risk well-taken.

2016:

After four years of drought, a winter with average rainfall was welcome, as it provided ample soil moisture for a strong start to the 2016 growing season. Average late-spring temperatures and limited precipitation minimized the risk of frost during mid-May bloom, ensuring average yields. June closed with a heat spell, slowing vine canopy growth at the ideal time. Harvest of the blocks contributing to the 2016 Inglenook Rubicon blend occurred under optimum conditions from September 6th through September 27th.

Ideal harvest conditions endowed the 2016 Rubicon with the three elements associated with a truly great wine from the Rutherford appellation: complexity, balance, and elegance. The aromas are intense and focused with top notes of creamy, sweet vanilla, and black licorice wound around a core of exquisitely ripe black cherry and crème de cassis. This refinement extends directly to the palate, where the wine is both broad and deep with sensuous, silky tannins. Supremely balanced in terms of both opulence and complexity, ripe black fruits and an ultra-smooth texture provide an impressive crescendo to a very long finish.

Review:

The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Rubicon is a wine of total precision and class. Translucent and energetic, with distinctly mid-weight structure, the 2016 is a wine of reserve, tension and breeding. Shy at first, the 2016 has a lot to offer, but it needs a number of years in bottle to be at its most expressive. Cedar, tobacco, licorice and wild cherry add the closing nuances.

- Antonio Galloni 97 Points

B Leighton Petit Verdot is made from 100 percent Petit Verdot.

Beautiful, lively and focused at first approach. Expressing black cassis, blackberry, brambles and thyme combining with crushed gravel, pencil shavings and floral notes. It is a fantastic expression of Petit Verdot that is rich and velvet on the palate, all at the same time. So much depth and length it seriously takes your breath away.

Review:

Lastly, the 2016 Petit Verdot comes from a higher elevation block and was brought up in 40% new French oak. It has a great bouquet of white pepper, chocolatey dark fruits, tobacco, and a kiss of violets to go with a full-bodied, incredible elegant profile on the palate. You don’t find Petit Verdot with this level of finesse very often, and it has silky tannins, good mid-palate concentration, and a great finish. It’s another stunning wine from Leighton I’d be thrilled to drink over the coming 10-15 years.

-Jeb Dunnuck 94 Points

Bellevue Cotes de Castillon Cuvee Vieilles Vignes is made from 65% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Franc.  Aged in mostly new oak barrels (90% French oak and 10% American oak), and some Château Haut Brion 2nd Barrels.

The wine offers a rich and intense bouquet of blackcurrant, blackberry and strawberry. It is smooth and full in the mouth with a velvety texture. Acidity combined with firm but well-integrated tannins are a fine supporting cast to the black fruit flavors at the end.

Review:

"Céline Lydoire grows this wine at her family’s 34-acre estate in Belvès, the vines growing in clay-limestone soils. Her old-vine fruit is often a gentle and delicate take on Castillon, and this 2016, while solidly built, is shy, with a persistent flavor undertow of black raspberries and dark chocolate. The flavors keep giving in the end, showing the stamina to age. - J.G."

- Wine & Spirits (June 2021), 91 points

Charles Krug Peter Mondavi Family Vintage Selection Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon. 

Review:

The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Vintage Selection has a deep garnet-purple color and features exuberant notes of crushed black cherries, mulberries and blackcurrant cordial with touches of unsmoked cigars, menthol, yeast extract and pencil shavings. Full-bodied, concentrated and opulent in the mouth, it has a solid line of plush tannins and plenty of backbone freshness to lift the generous fruit to a long fruity finish.

-Wine Advocate 95 Points

Hertelendy Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Petit Verdot, 7% Malbec, 6% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc.

2016 was an extraordinarily epic vintage. It was the fifth consecutive outstanding vintage, and at the time of harvest, we thought it was the best of the decade. All of our fruit slowly matured and ripened, containing the proper phenolics that we strive to have every vintage. We had a decent winter, which meant that we had more irrigation water and more control of hang-time on the vines. With more hang time came more complexity and character, creating more balance in the vineyards. With a total production of 562 cases of the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon, this elegant powerhouse all hails from highly-esteemed, volcanic Napa areas such as the Pritchard Hill area, Howell Mountain, Atlas Peak, and our very own Rockwell Ridge estate vineyard (35 feet below Howell Mountain). We’re honored that this wine recently won GOLD at Texsom (back-to-back years!), arguably the most prestigious wine competition in the country featuring 19 Master Sommeliers and 16 Masters of Wine on their judging panel.

“The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon is a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Petit Verdot, 7% Malbec, 6% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc. It has a deep garnet-purple color and delivers intense, vivacious black cherries, warm blackcurrants and blackberries scents with touches of garrigue, cigar box, underbrush and lavender. Full-bodied and packed with generous flavors of crushed black berries with oodles of earthy sparks, it has a rock-solid line of grainy tannins and seamless freshness, finishing very long and savory.”

 — Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Robert Parker Wine Advocate, 96 Points

Hertelendy Legend is made from 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Malbec, 6% Petit Verdot, 1% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc.

Review:

“The most expensive of these new releases, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Hertelendy Legend is a blend of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Malbec, 6% Petit Verdot, and 1% each of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, all aged 23 months in a mix of French and Hungarian oak, 90% being new. It offers a rock star bouquet of crème de cassis and jammy blackberry fruits intermixed with notions of white flowers, graphite, and white chocolate. This deep, layered, thrillingly textured beauty hits the palate with full-bodied richness and depth, building tannins, and a great finish. Give this super-rich, powerful Cabernet 4-5 years of bottle age, and it will cruise for 20+ years.”

Jeb Dunnuck, 98 Points