Description
2016 VINE CLIFF OAKVILLE ESTATE CABERNET SAUVIGNON
One of Napa Valley’s first wineries founded in 1871, Vine Cliff became a “ghost winery” after 30 years of fine wine production after the complete devastation of its vineyards caused by phylloxera in 1900. The Sweeney family resurrected the Estate in the 1980s, successfully reviving the winery’s prestige of limited production, ultra-premium, estate-grown wines. It took close to 85 years before Vine Cliff, like the Phoenix in its seal, rose from the ashes… with a new Gravity Flow Winery and 100 Point Winemaker Thomas Brown calling the shots, Vine Cliff is soaring like an Eagle.
The lower blocks of the Oakville Estate Vineyard are terraced into steep hillsides, layered with volcanic rock, contrasting the upper blocks planted on the famous red clay loam of the Oakville Bench giving the wines extraordinary complexity of aromas and flavors. Individual vineyard blocks were hand-harvested and fermented separately before being transferred into French oak for 18 months, producing a gorgeous, delicately layered Cabernet that’s classically Oakville and profoundly pleasing.
Tasting Notes from Master Sommelier, “The Vine Cliff Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon 2016 begins with a vibrant nose of red currants, fresh-cut violets, pipe tobacco, and delicate vanilla. These aromas continue on the focused palate, with penetrating tart & sweet black plums and muddled mountain blackberries, combined with velvety tannins and a very long, intense finish. This delicious wine drinks beautifully now but still shows loads of youthful exuberance, promising more than another decade of prime drinking.” KEVIN VOGT 96 POINTS
