Winemaker Notes
Ulysses is a Cabernet Sauvignon with a touch of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot produced from Ulysses Vineyard, Oakville, California. Steeped in history, Ulysses Vineyard, part of the original 1800’s Charles Hopper Ranch, was acquired in 2008 by Christian Moueix. Along the Napa Valley’s Oakville bench and extending over an alluvial fan at the foot of the Mayacamas Range, the site is exceptional for winegrowing. The soil is composed of deep, gravelly, clay loam and is particularly well-suited to growing Cabernet Sauvignon.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Aromas of tangerine zest and blackcurrants, with the perfume of fresh flowers. Full-bodied with a dusty texture to the tannins. Gorgeous. Nuanced and pure. Cabernet sauvignon with a touch of cabernet franc and petit verdot.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Another incredibly successful 2020, the 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon offers a big, rich, powerful profile offering ample chocolaty dark fruits, some tobacco, eucalyptus, and mint herb nuances, an expansive, layered texture, and building yet polished and ripe tannins. It's a beautiful wine that should age gracefully for 15-20 years.
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Wine Spectator
On the sedate side in terms of energy, this offers a slow-moving core of gently mulled black cherry and black currant fruit, backed by hints of tobacco, roasted cedar and warm earth. Shows a hint of the vintages rusticity, but the fruit is generous enough to easily compensate for that. A late violet echo offers a pretty hint of purity. Drink now through 2038. 700 cases made.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
Home to some of the most sought-after Cabernet Sauvignon in America, Napa Valley’s Oakville district stretches across the center of Napa's valley floor and foothills between the Vaca and Mayacamas Mountains. This AVA is home to the legendary To Kalon Vineyard and Martha's Vineyard, as well as many powerhouse wineries including Screaming Eagle, Silver Oak, Robert Mondavi, Opus One, Far Niente and Groth.
The climate is generally warm and agreeable, resulting in year after year of favorable vintages. Summer days see a gentle tug of war between warmer inland air and the cool air coming in from the San Pablo Bay, creating an ideal environment to grow red varieties. Oakville's diverse soils, namely ancient sea bedrock, clay and gravel, are well-drained, and perfect for high-caliber viticulture.
Cabernet here is often bottled varietally but is also popular in Bordeaux Blends. Oakville wines are known for their silky, sensual textures, structured tannins, dark and brooding fruit and lovely aromatics. These age-worthy and prestigious wines are favored by collectors throughout the world.