Winemaker Notes
Blend: 53% Cabernet Sauvignon and 47% Petite Verdot.
Professional Ratings
-
Jeb Dunnuck
Lastly, the 2018 Pure Magic Vine Hill Ranch Vineyard is a selection from this great vineyard and checks in as 53% Cabernet and 47% Petit Verdot. As with the straight vineyard release, it reveals a vivid purple hue to go with a deep, complex nose of black and blue fruits, crushed violets, chocolate, gravelly earth, and smoked tobacco, Rich, opulent, and sweetly fruited on the palate, this is one sexy, seamless Cabernet Sauvignon that has full-bodied richness, a weightless texture, incredible finesse and purity, and a heavenly finish. It's already approachable yet is going to evolve for 20-30 years or more.
-
James Suckling
A seamless red from Tor with blackberry, blueberry, plum, graphite, and chocolate aromas and flavors. It’s full and very round with ripe, polished tannins that are creamy and seductive. So much gorgeous fruit here. It’s powerful and direct. Co-fermented cabernet sauvignon and petit verdot. Almost 40% PV. Needs at least three to four years to come together. Try after 2023.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
This is a brand-new wine for TOR, composed of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon and 47% Petit Verdot, co-fermented, then aged mainly in Darnajou oak (French) barrels for around 19 months. The 2018 Red Blend Pure Magic Vine Hill Ranch has a deep garnet-purple color and strides confidently out of the glass with sophisticated notes of cassis, cedar chest, pencil lead and warm plums plus suggestions of wild sage, clove oil and violets. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is packed with vibrant, crunchy black fruit and a solid foundation of firm grainy tannins, finishing long and fragrant.
Rating: 97+
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.