Wine Reviews 2019 VHR Cabernet Sauvignon
Jancis Robinson, JancisRobinson.com <span>June 28, 2023</span>
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com <span>Feb. 16, 2023</span>
Even better, yet certainly in the same mold as the 2014, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon VHR is straight-up heavenly stuff, and I suspect it will warrant another point in 5–7 years. This deep purple-hued effort has a great nose of cassis, redcurrants, dried herbs, and tobacco, with some background chocolaty oak. Deep, full-bodied, concentrated, and mouth-filling, it has a seamless texture, velvety tannins, and the balance to evolve for over two decades. It doesn’t get much more classic Oakville. 99 pts.
James Molesworth, Wine Spectator, winespectator.com <span>Dec. 31, 2022</span>
89. VHR, Vine Hill Ranch
Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville 2019
97 pts. | $250 | California
Oakville’s benchlands are among Napa Valley’s top terroirs, and the Phillips family has owned 600 acres of prized land on the western foothills of Oakville since 1959. Just 70 acres are planted at Vine Hill Ranch and most of the grapes are sold to Napa titans such as Bond, Tor and Dalla Valle. In 2008, the Phillips founded VHR, keeping 15% of their grapes to make one Cabernet Sauvignon. Michael Wolf tends the vines and Françoise Peschon produces the wines, using specific blocks each year for an exceptional site expression of Oakville Cabernet. 1,200 cases made.
Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Independent, thewineindependent.com <span>Dec. 1, 2022</span>
#17
99 pts.
$285
QPR: 7.35
Wine Spectator, winespectator.com <span>Nov. 14, 2022</span>
#89
This Oakville stunner is loaded with cassis, plum reduction and boysenberry pâte de fruit aromas and flavors, all allied to a deeply embedded iron spine. Singed alder and apple wood notes frame the edges, while sparkles of anise, violet and bramble add range and textual nuance. Reveals a great tug of earth late on the finish, with the fruit still dripping at the very end. Built for the cellar. Best from 2024 through 2040. 1,200 cases made. 97 pts.
James Molesworth, Wine Spectator, winespectator.com <span>Oct. 15, 2022</span>
This Oakville stunner is loaded with cassis, plum reduction and boysenberry pâte de fruit aromas and flavors, all allied to a deeply embedded iron spine. Singed alder and apple wood notes frame the edges, while sparkles of anise, violet and bramble add range and textual nuance. Reveals a great tug of earth late on the finish, with the fruit still dripping at the very end. Built for the cellar. Best from 2024 through 2040. 1,200 cases made. 97 pts.
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com <span>Oct. 5, 2022</span>
Flowers and brambleberries on the nose, together with lavender and sandalwood. Very perfumed. Full-bodied, yet very tight and polished, with gentle, graceful sensibility that shows through clearly and subtly. The tannins are soft and focused, providing finesse and a fine texture that runs the length of the wine. Very attractive now, but even better in 2025. 98 pts.
Jonathan Cristaldi, Decanter, decanter.com <span>Sept. 12, 2022</span>
Fresh, enticing aromas of sappy red and black fruits, leather, sandalwood, cassis, violets and sweet cedar. Gorgeous on entry, brimming with elegance in its finely delineated fruit notes that lead with blackberry, and black cherry morphing into tangy red fruit and currants. Featherweight fine-grained tannins are almost powdery; a wealth of savoury mineral character floods the mid-palate like liquified granite. And it keeps giving, revealing wild herbs, sagebrush, bittersweet chocolate and brown spices. One of the more elegant 2019 Napa Cabs in this concentrated, dark-fruited vintage, with beautiful structure and a freshness that remains present in every single sip. 100 pts.
Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Independent, thewineindependent.com <span>Aug. 3, 2022</span>
Deep purple-black colored, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon slowly unfurls, revealing a gregariously fruity personality of juicy blueberries and fresh black cherries to start. With patience and swirling, a core of black currant jelly, violets, cracked black pepper, eucalyptus, and tilled soil emerges. Full-bodied, firm, and impressively structured, the palate has super-ripe, fine-grained tannins and bags of black fruits sparked by floral and mineral nuances, finishing with epic length and energy. Composed of 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, 1200 cases were made. 99 pts.
Owen Bargreen, OwenBargreen.com <span>July 25, 2022</span>
The 2019 Vine Hill Ranch ‘Napa Valley’ Cabernet Sauvignon is an inky, powerful western Oakville wine from this outstanding vintage. Dusty soils and tobacco leaf fill the nose with shades of anise and graphite, with ripe boysenberry cordial tones that all meld in the glass. The palate is soft and seamless with a weightless quality once on the mid-palate. Showing impeccable balance, this finishes exceedingly long with a great combination of black fruits, tar and worn leather, with freshly tilled soils. Drink 2022–2044. 98 pts.
Virginie Boone, Wine Enthusiast, winemag.com <span>July 1, 2022</span>
This red is beautifully rich and supple in red fruit, polished tannin and a depth of layered complexity. It is broad and generous, with complexity to age and fresh, lasting acidity that illuminates and energizes the palate. Enjoy from 2029–2039. 98 pts.
Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media, vinous.com <span>Jan. 7, 2022</span>
Just bottled, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon tastes like a barrel sample, such is its purity of fruit and lushness! It is the most overt, opulent young wine I have ever tasted here, and likely to require a number of years in bottle for some of the baby fat to melt away. Pliant and supple, with soft contours and tons of fruit, the 2019 is simply magnificent. I imagine the more savory, earthy notes that are so typical of VHR will develop in time. Even today, though, the 2019 is outrageously beautiful. 98+ pts.
2019 VHR, Vine Hill Ranch “Extended Barrel Age” Cabernet Sauvignon
The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Extended Age is bright, fresh and nuanced. In this tasting, the Extended Age comes across as quite different than the straight VHR Cabernet, which is fascinating to see after 2018, where the wines are more similar. The Extended Age seems to have a bit more of everything; more fruit, more energy and more drive. I can’t wait to taste it from bottle. 96–98 pts.
Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media, vinous.com <span>Jan. 7, 2021</span>
Tasted from a hypothetical blend, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon captures all the magic of this great vintage. In the glass the 2019 is dark, sumptuous and super-expressive. Blackberry fruit, gravel, spice, menthol, licorice and dried flowers give the 2019 so many layers of breadth and texture. At this stage, the 2019 is shaping up to be an epic VHR in line with truly profound vintages such as 2013 and 2016. 96–99 pts.