Nickel & Nickel DeCarle Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

Nickel & Nickel Bear Track Cabernet Sauvignon is made from Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. 

Bear Track Vineyard is planted in three terraced blocks on the eastern hillsides of Napa Valley, just outside of the Howell Mountain AVA. The cool climate and iron-rich, volcanic ash soils result in small, tight clusters of concentrated fruit. Ample hang time before harvest yields a Cabernet Sauvignon with intense, dark fruit flavors and integrated tannins.

Nickel & Nickel Bear Track Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 Review:

With a plushness on the palate, this varietal wine offers spicy undertones of cedar, sage and oak, with woody tannin and thick, concentrated black fruit. Intense throughout, the berry richness is contrasted by flecks of iron and crushed rock. Enjoy 2029–2039. Cellar Selection
-Wine Enthusiast 94 Points

Blind Justice Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 76% Cabernet Sauvignon and 24% Cabernet Franc.

Blind Justice is a pure expression of Napa Cabernet exclusively from Beckstoffer’s ‘To-Kalon’ vineyard. The true heart of the famed Oakville appellation, this vineyard highlights the decadent essence of Napa Cabernet to perfection, with vines rooted in loamy alluvial soil that adds depth, nuance, and structure. An absolute stunner, and the flagship of the Justice offerings, this is the wine that epitomizes the adventurous and pioneering soul of the Napa Valley.

Baking spices like clove and cocoa jump out of the glass and are then met with aromas of ripe black cherry and vanilla. The cherry shows up again on the palate along with other dark red and purple fruits. This wine lingers for days with a rich core and luscious mouthfeel.

Review:

The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Blind Justice Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard is straight-up terrific. Based on 76% Cabernet Sauvignon and 24% Cabernet Franc from a handful of blocks in this great site in Oakville, aged 20 months in 78% new oak, it has a beautiful cassis, wildflower, and sappy herb-driven bouquet as well as a rich yet seamless style on the palate. This full-bodied beauty pairs richness and elegance perfectly, has ripe tannins, terrific balance, and is going to evolve for two decades.

-Jeb Dunnuck 97 Points

Dunn Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 100 percent Cabernet.

This Napa Valley wine is a blend of their Howell Mountain fruit and a small quantity of valley floor fruit that they purchase. This valley floor fruit contributes to the wine’s earlier approachability and softer tannic structure.

Review:

“The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley) is a gorgeous wine, especially for Dunn fans who want a wine to drink that won't take forever to come around. Dark and savory, with terrific depth, the 2018 is full of character. Black cherry, lavender, chocolate, sage, mint and cloves all open in the glass. The 2018 has just enough grip to have a good amount of classic structure, but not to the point of being forbidding. The Napa Cabernet is about 55% Howell Mountain and 45% Coombsville fruit. The 2018 is beautifully done and an absolute delight.”

-Vinous 94 Points

Dunn's 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon shows terrific purity and focus in its aromas of cassis and pencil shavings and on the medium to full-bodied palate, where it's streamlined and smooth. There's intensity and concentration, but they sort of slide past almost unnoticed, lubricated by fine-grained tannins and lingering notes of cassis and graphite on the finish.

-Wine Advocate 94 Points

Paul Hobbs Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon.

Grown on the west side of St. Helena, this distinctive cabernet sauvignon clearly displays its origins with a rich garnet hue and sophisticated aromas of cacao bean, crème de cassis, and sweet tobacco on the nose. Layered, with a superb structure, the wine offers impressions of blueberry coulis, black raspberry, and savory herbs like Herbs de Provence. The weighty mid-palate unveils anise spice and a graphite mineral note that combines with a fresh acidity that extends the long finish.

Review:

The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard was aged in 70% new oak this vintage, as opposed to 100% as it normally is. Deep garnet-purple in color, it rolls out of the glass with perfumed rose hip tea, fragrant earth and incense scents, giving way to a core of kirsch, blackberry preserves and blackcurrant pastilles plus a touch of iron ore. Full-bodied, rich and seductive, it has exquisitely ripe, finely grained tannins and a refreshing backbone, finishing long and minerally.

-Robert Parker's Wine Advocate 99 Points

The Grade Napa Cabernet Sauvignon Winfield Vineyard is made from Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.

“This wine expresses a focused balancing act of dark, rich black fruit, and a fine tannin structure, illuminated through the core with a laser-like acidity. The wine displays a deep purple-red hue with a cranberry halo. Aromas of cassis, cinnamon, citrus oil, roasted meat, and lilac swell from the glass.

“The palate is marked by a wave of jet-black brambly fruit up front, followed by an exotic spice mid-palate and a long, complex finish that lasts and lasts expressing notes of flowering jasmine, and oolong tea. The silky tannins hold everything together and will certainly allow this wine to evolve in the cellar for at least 7-10 years.”  - Thomas River Brown

Review:

The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Winfield Vineyard is an absolutely gorgeous wine that conveys a striking interplay of richness, power and nuance. Silky and restrained for this site, the Winfield offers up a compelling melange of red fruit, iron, cedar, tobacco, rose petal and dried herbs, all in a mid-weight style that is incredibly appealing. The Winfield is a selection taken from Blocks 1, 4 and 5.

-Vinous 94 Points

Waypoint Oakville Ranch Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon.

Review:

Sourced from blocks 7 and Summit, and expertly farmed by Phil Coturri (Harlan, Mayacamas, Landmark, Moon Mountain), comes a big but very smooth and inviting Cabernet Sauvignon with black cherry fruit, blueberries and creme de cassis notes. It’s a flawless wine, which is probably how it recently picked up a soon-to-be published 

95-point Cellar Selection from Wine Enthusiast. 

The 2018 Oakville Ranch checks in as 82% Cabernet Sauvignon and 18% Cabernet Franc, all brought up in 68% new barrels. A lifted, pretty perfume of violets, spring flowers, black raspberries, and cassis gives way to a medium to full-bodied, elegant 2018 that does everything right. With polished tannins and plenty of richness, enjoy this beauty any time over the coming 15+ years.

-Jeb Dunnuck 95 Points