Paradigm Cabernet Sauvignon 2015

My First comment tasting this wine is "wow!" It's delicious; our flagship wine at Paradigm and it delivers. Dense, deep, ripe aromas of black berry and black cherry-like fruit layered with caramel and toastiness from a nice mix of French Oak barrels. Flavors coat the palate with matching notes in a classic Cabernet Sauvignon presentation. One of our best Cabs to date! 

Paradigm Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 96% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Merlot , 1% Petit Verdot

This Cabernet Franc is black cherry red in color with aromas of blueberry jam and white pepper spiciness. With wonderful ripeness we were able to make one of our best Cabernet Francs. The wine is very lush across the palate with a silky softness and sweet impression of ripe blueberry fruit. Tannins are very moderate with a nice light texture in the mid palate. This is an easy drinking Cabernet Franc, rich and complete and very enjoyable.

Paradigm Cabernet Franc is made from 76% Cabernet Franc,  13% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot 

Pure, powerful and polished, the Wall Road shows immense aromas of black currant, blueberry, blackberry preserves and hints of sweet dark herbs. The palate is fully developed and well-structured with firm yet ripe tannins and layers of dried red fruits and currants. There is a forest and sweet herb quality that hints at the signature terroir of this Mountain gem. The finish is long and lingering and lifts the layers of fruit on the palate perfectly.

Vintage Notes – An unseasonably warm start to 2015 brought early bud break and bloom for Napa Valley. Vines began to show fatigue as they entered their fourth year of drought, resulting in lower crop yields than years prior. Unexpected heat meant an early harvest for the valley, one of the earliest on record. Ripened fruit proved to be of tremendous quality, while Cabernets are deep and decadent in color with great balance in tannin.

Wall Road Vineyard – This three-acre gem is located at the northern tip of the Mount Veeder AVA, due west of Oakville and the To Kalon vineyard. True to the Veeder AVA, this site delivers both the power and elegance we strive to achieve in our Mountain Cabernets. The elevation, slope orientation and well-drained soils yield fully ripened small berries with concentrated flavor.

Mount Veeder AVA – Known for its acclaimed Cabernet Sauvignon, this illustrious appellation produces graceful, expressive and world-renowned wine. Limited by nature, Mount Veeder’s rugged mountain terrain, high elevation and cooling influence from the San Pablo Bay allows for a long growing season that returns low, sought after yields. This results in powerful fruit with distinct berry flavors.

Review:

"This is some very serious stuff. Aromas of tar, vanilla and cloves. But the fruit is delicious with notes of boysenberries, blackcurrants, oranges, lavender, herbs and baking spices. The palate's rich and warming but also calm and composed. Layers of blue fruit, ripe yet integrated tannins, a fine line of acidity and a long finish. The broader style remains so elegant. Drink in 2022."
- James Suckling (May 2018), 95 pts

Cresta Velia Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mt. is made from 100 percent Napa Cabernet Sauvignon.

Here we go again. It seems as though I’m saying the same thing year after year. Another excellent vintage from Howell Mountain. And once again it’s true. The wine shows deep purple color concentration with both sweet and savory aromatics on the nose. Blackberries, currants, freshly turned soil and black licorice attack your nostrils from the glass. Rich, broad and full bodied as this wine  is the vineyard once again provides the balancing influence of acidity and tannin and helps usher in the finishing notes of roasted meats, cigar box, fennel and more black and blue fruit. If 2012 and 2013 Cresta Velia had a baby it would be the 2015. Incredible concentration from the 2013 with generous portions of fruit from 2012. And although you are not supposed to have a favorite child, if I had to choose I think it would be 2015...until we release the 2016.

100% Cabernet Sauvignon from Eagle Summit Vineyard on Howell Mountain

Equal amounts of clone 4 and clone 7

100% percent french oak 73% new 27% used

unfined and unfiltered

144 cases

The 2015 growing season was the warmest ever recorded in Washington State. We achieved sufficient shoot growth early in the season to provide the fruit shading during the hottest June days. We have also installed overhead misters in all of our vineyard sites to cool the fruit, if needed, to produce the finest grapes we can grow, regardless of extreme weather. Almost all of our Cabernet Sauvignon achieved its final ripening under perfect, mid-70 degree Fahrenheit temperatures in October. The results were very small and concentrated berries full of flavor and freshness.

The 2015 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley is a truly majestic wine with great purity, class and breed. The wealth of blackberry, blueberry and black cherry fruit is remarkable, with hints of spring flowers, cocoa powder, roasted herbs, forest floor and minerals. This wine will have a large drinking window due to the seamless integration of all its elements. Drink now through 2037. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon.
- Paul Golitzin, Director of Winemaking

Review:

"The flagship is the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon, 100% Cabernet Sauvignon mostly from Champoux with the balance from Palengat and Wallula vineyards. Crème de cassis, graphite, black licorice, unsmoked tobacco, and hints of chocolate and emerge from this beauty and it continues to gain depth and nuance with time in the glass. Full-bodied, deep, and layered with an incredible purity and elegance on the palate, it's already accessible but has more than enough tannin, depth, and balance to evolve for two decades or more."
- Jeb Dunnuck (April 2018), 99 pts

“Densely layered and brooding are accurate notes for this vintage of the Kingly Project. Visiting and re-visiting the wine each time seems to reveal new notes and expressions like a colorful tapestry of scents and tastes. The wine is a completely opaque deep purple in the glass.

“Aromatic notes suggest star anise, flint, blackberry paste, and distressed leather. The palate expresses itself with even deeper notes of baker’s dark chocolate, rhubarb, roasted cedar bark, brambly jam, and crushed river rock.

“The mouthfeel of this wine is structured and shows an architectural framework with pronounced and shouldered tannins. With a few hours in the decanter or 3-5 years in the cellar this wine will blossom.”

Review:

The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Kingly Project is the most intriguing and complete of the three 2015 Cabernets I tasted. Powerful and structured, while also wonderfully nuanced, the Kingly shows once again why it is one of the most compelling wines in Napa Valley. The graphite, crushed rock, licorice, black cherry and menthol notes are all finely etched. I very much admire the explosive energy and nuance here.”

- Antonion Galloni, March 2018, Drinking Window: 2022-2035 96 Points