Vice Versa Le Petit Vice Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
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Jeb
Dunnuck -
Robert
Parker
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Jeb Dunnuck
Moving to the Cabernet Sauvignon releases, the 2016 Le Petit Vice is the second wine of the estate and spent 20 months in 50% new French oak. Made mostly from declassified fruit, yet also with some purchased fruit, it certainly delivers the goods and shows the quality of this estate. Blackberries, plums, cedary herb, and scorched earth characteristics all flow to a layered, medium to full-bodied Cabernet that has remarkable elegance and purity. It’s one hell of a second wine and there are 500 cases produced.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
This is a new second wine meant as a means for consumers to discover the Vice Versa brand. Made of 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, blending fruit from St. Helena, Pritchard Hill and Yountville and aged 20 months in 50% new French oak, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Le Petit Vice is deep garnet-purple colored and opens with expressive crème de cassis, preserved plums and blueberry tart with hints of Chinese five spice, sandalwood, pencil lead and menthol plus a waft of coffee beans. It's full-bodied, rich and seductive in the mouth with wonderfully plush yet firm tannins and great freshness, finishing very long and spicy.
Rating: 93+
Other Vintages
2014-
James
Suckling
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James
Suckling
As it went, at 23, Patrice welcomed the arrival of his first child, and attended business school in Montreal, Canada. The early 90's found him working to support his young family and honing his coding and entrepreneurial skills as the World Wide Web began to take off. He went on to start one of the first internet companies in Canada and marveled at the rate with which it grew. In the year 2000, Patrice was fortunate to have the opportunity to take his company public, allowing him to finally pursue his long awaited winemaking dreams.
Vice Versa was born in 2003 after a few years Patrice spent working alongside the influential winemaker Paul Hobbs. The hands-on education and experience he got with him went beyond skills and methodology. Introductions were made, an organic network of friendships with the industry’s most respected players was formed, and knowledge is continuously traded, which enables Vice Versa to craft the kinds of wines that originally sparked this journey.
Things are kept simple and focused at every level. Balance, as the name suggests, is what guides the philosophy, which is founded on the essence of what’s inside, not the noise of what’s outside. Vice Versa has become a beacon for those who are masters of their craft, people who don’t burn out working at this level because they are provoked by passion.
One of the most prestigious wines of the world capable of great power and grace, Napa Valley Cabernet is a leading force in the world of fine, famous, collectible red wine. Today the Napa Valley and Cabernet Sauvignon are so intrinsically linked that it is difficult to discuss one without the other. But it wasn’t until the 1970s that this marriage came to light; sudden international recognition rained upon Napa with the victory of the Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon in the 1976 Judgement of Paris.
Cabernet Sauvignon undoubtedly dominates Napa Valley today, covering half of the land under vine, commanding the highest prices per ton and earning the most critical acclaim. Cabernet Sauvignon’s structure, acidity, capacity to thrive in multiple environs and ability to express nuances of vintage make it perfect for Napa Valley where incredible soil and geographical diversity are found and the climate is perfect for grape growing. Within the Napa Valley lie many smaller sub-AVAs that express specific characteristics based on situation, slope and soil—as a perfect example, Rutherford’s famous dust or Stags Leap District's tart cherry flavors.