Vine Hill Ranch VHR Cabernet Sauvignon 2014
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James
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Parker
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Winemaker Notes
The estate-grown 2014 VHR, Vine Hill Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon is striking for its perfumed notes of violets, Indian cinnamon, dark cocoa and mocha infused with ripe blackberry, cherry and blueberry. The wine opines the rich aroma of dusty soil on a warm summer day. The lush dark fruit is lifted with a vein of minerality and bright acidities, showcasing the elegance, balance and maturity of wine grapes grown on this unique benchland site in southwestern Oakville. The wine finishes with an opulent suppleness that coats the palate and imparts a complexity and lasting length of purity.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Such balance and precision now, with blackcurrants, raspberries and hints of walnut husk. The tannins are totally resolved, with a creamy texture and a tangy and fresh finish. Lovely tension and focus at the end. In a very good place. Drinking beautifully now.
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Jeb Dunnuck
There are 804 cases of the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon VHR, a beautifully seamless, full-bodied, ultra-refined 2014 that shows the round, supple, sexy style of the vintage. Offering lots of ripe black fruits, spring flowers, lead pencil, and even a hint of iron, it has remarkable purity, that rare mix of richness and elegance, supple yet present tannins, and a great finish. It’s going to evolve nicely for another two decades.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Made by Françoise Peschon, the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon and offers up notes of cedar wood, forest floor, loamy earth, blackcurrants and a touch of background oak. (About 75% new French cooperage was utilized.) The wine has a dense ruby/purple color to the rim and an attractive, relatively long finish. It should drink well for the next 10-15+ years
Other Vintages
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Enthusiast - Decanter
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The Phillips family is proud to be part of a long line of independent growers who have farmed in Oakville over the past century. In 1978, parents, Alex and Robert (Bob) Phillips, moved to the Napa Valley to raise their family on the ranch that their grandfather, Bruce Kelham, had purchased some twenty years earlier and christened Vine Hill Ranch.
Over time, Bob and Alex cultivated a vineyard of renown, producing exceptional grapes for a collection of notable Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon vintners. They also dedicated themselves to land preservation and community organizations, including the Farm Bureau and Napa Valley Grapegrowers (NVG), an association pivotal in defining the valley’s appellation structure and protecting its rich agriculture resources.
In 2011, the family was honored with the Napa Valley Grower of the Year award, the first awarded to a family, rather than an individual. Bob and Alex’s love for Vine Hill Ranch is now shared by the third generation.
The family feels profoundly blessed for their parents’ teaching the value of listening, learning, and caring for land and community—and for cultivating in them the heart of a grapegrower.
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.