Vine Hill Ranch VHR Cabernet Sauvignon 2015
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Robert
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James
Suckling
Product Details
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Winemaker Notes
The 2015 VHR Cabernet Sauvignon is imbued with notes of dried lavender and violet mingled with warm ripe blackberry, dark chocolate shavings, graham cracker, savory herbs, cedar, tobacco and cassis. Silk and velvet are layered over an intense, powerful core of lush, dark fruit, with refined tannins and a persistent finish. An energetic vein of minerality and acidity gives this wine a lift of brightness that frames a generous mouthfeel of ripe black cherry and blackberry fruit, with hints of vanilla bean and mocha. Complex, balanced, full-bodied and opulent, the wine seamlessly integrates the individual attributes of the contributing vineyard blocks to create a singular expression of the vineyard.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon opens with cedar notions over a cassis, warm blackberries and black cherries core with hints of spice box, garrigue and bay leaves. Full-bodied, firm and grainy with nice vibrant fruit expression, it has lots of oak at this youthful but that should marry nicely with a further 3-4 years in bottle.
Rating: 94+
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James Suckling
A balanced and pretty 2015 cabernet sauvignon with currant, blackberry and chocolate character. Full body, tight and focused. Juicy finish. Needs to come together with three or four years of bottle age. Classy stuff.
Other Vintages
2020-
Wine
Enthusiast - Decanter
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Robert
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Jeb
Dunnuck
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Dunnuck -
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Spectator -
Robert
Parker
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Jeb
Dunnuck -
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Robert
Parker
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Parker -
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Spectator
- Vinous
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Robert
Parker -
James
Suckling
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.