Winemaker Notes
Offering an incredibly complex bouquet of red and black fruits, new saddle leather, dried flowers, and garrigue. A seamless texture, medium to full body, silky tannins, and a singular, complex character all make for a brilliant wine that’s already drinking great today.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Lots of blackcurrants, stewed black cherries, fresh herbs, clove and licorice on the nose. It’s full-bodied with firm, chalky tannins. Rich with a generous core of black fruit.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Vicarious is a blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Merlot. Deep garnet-purple in color, it soars out of the glass with notes of ripe, crushed black currants, fresh black cherries and blackberries plus suggestions of menthol, wet rocks, bouquet garni and tobacco leaf. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is chock-full of crunchy black fruit and framed by grainy tannins and bags of freshness, finishing with a lingering minty kick.
Rating: 92+
Undoubtedly proving its merit over and over, Napa Valley is a now a leading force in the world of prestigious red wine regions. Though Cabernet Sauvignon dominates Napa Valley, other red varieties certainly thrive here. Important but often overlooked include Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties well-regarded on their own as well as for their blending capacities. Very old vine Zinfandel represents an important historical stronghold for the region and Pinot noir is produced in the cooler southern parts, close to the San Pablo Bay.
Perfectly situated running north to south, the valley acts as a corridor, pulling cool, moist air up from the San Pablo Bay in the evenings during the hot days of the growing season, which leads to even and slow grape ripening. Furthermore the valley claims over 100 soil variations including layers of volcanic, gravel, sand and silt—a combination excellent for world-class red wine production.