Winemaker Notes
This vertical six-pack includes two bottles each of Napa Valley Hoffman Block Cabernet Sauvignon 2015, 2017 & 2018.
Longhorn Ridge Vineyard is located in the eastern hills of the Napa Valley on Monticello Road exactly 606 yards from the Atlas Peak AVA and very near Pahlmeyer's Waters Ranch. Vinum Cellars has made wine from these grapes since 2006 and it is now estate owned as it was purchased by Vinum Co-founder Richard Bruno and vintner friend and mentor Sam Balakian. Vinum Cellars produces Estate Cabernet Sauvignon under the Hoffman Block designation and plans to use developing vineyard designates to make single vineyard Merlot, Cabernet Franc and possibly a Bordeaux blend from these blocks.
This wine is made from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes grown on the original eight acre hillside block called Hoffman. The vineyard is riddled with granite deposits and volcanic soil known for low yielding, small berried clusters ideal for producing wines of maximum concentration.
This dry-farmed vineyard is organically farmed without the use of pesticides or harmful sprays such as Round-up. Organic Certification is targeted for 2025.
- 2 Bottles of 2015 Hoffman Block Cabernet Sauvignon
This single vineyard Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is a deep dark inky purple color which proceeds the rich cassis aromas that are replete with baking spices and dark chocolate cacao. The palate is super concentrated and deep, with sappy rich with ripe black cherry, cassis and sweet, deep and juicy boysenberry with spicy tannins of cinnamon and all spice. The wine finishes complete with balanced acid over tannins and deep fruit notes and flavors. - 2 Bottles of 2017 Hoffman Block Cabernet Sauvignon
The color on this intensely concentrated wine is an inky dark purple-plum and boysenberry color which showcases the intensity of this hillside, dry farmed fruit has. The aromas express dense core fruit and spice from long term aging over 26 months in 50% new and 50% second year Chateau Margaux barrels. The palate of this wine expresses sweet bing cherry and cherry vanilla tones mixed with supple grape and vanilla oak tannins ideal for long term cellar aging over 30 years. The wine is layered with cherry essence and a perfectly balanced, silky cherry vanilla and complex spice at its core. The texture on the finish is balanced and it's pedigree make this a must have Top Tier Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. - 2 Bottles of 2018 Hoffman Block Cabernet Sauvignon
The deep, concentrated aromas are rich with sappy cassis and wild huckleberry notes and backed by integrated vanilla, cigar box and elegant and supple oak spices. The wine finishes complete with balanced acidity over integrated oak and grape tannins with deep, ripe, blue fruit notes including cassis and wild huckleberries- textured and supple in their flavors and overall palate. The mid palate tannins are firm yet the entry is silky soft and transitions seamlessly through the mid palate.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
2018: This luxurious, deep and dark wine offers abundant oak spices, dark chocolate and black fruit flavors on a firm and tannic texture. Black figs, blackberries and a hint of black pepper are accented by toast, wood char, cocoa and espresso notes. Age-able, the wine should drink best from 2025–2035.
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James Suckling
2018: Black berry, black olive and blackcurrant aromas and flavors. Dried herbs. Medium-bodied, slightly chewy with a linear and slightly austere tannin texture. Drink now or hold.
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James Suckling
2017: Black fruit, dark plums, cedar and dried herbs on the nose. It’s full-bodied with firm tannins. Structured and focused on the palate.
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Wine Enthusiast
2015: Thick grippy tannins surround a core of mountain sage and dried herb in this 100% varietal wine. Tart underlying acidity brightens a triumvirate of cherry, cassis and red currant, with the promise of rocky minerality lingering on the finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
2018: The vineyard is off Monticello Road on the way up towards Atlas Peak, and the wines often seem to share some Atlas Peak austerity. The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Longhorn Ridge Vineyard Hoffman Block delivers cool, mentholated scents of cassis, plus a hint of sage as well. In the mouth, it's medium to full-bodied, rich, concentrated and tannic. It needs time but shows greater concentration and ripe blackberry notes than the 2017. Give it a few years in the cellar.
Rating: 90+ -
Wine Enthusiast
2017: Earthy in tobacco and cedar, this block-designate from near Atlas Peak shows a richness of dark-black fruit and a touch of reduction. Burly in style, showing the warmth of the vintage, it finishes in a grip of supple, integrated tannin.
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.