Wine Advisor
Inglenook, Cabernet Sauvignon 2018
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Description
If Captain Niebaum was partially responsible for introducing Cabernet Sauvignon to Napa Valley, then John Daniel Jr. was responsible for carrying on his granduncle's tradition of excellence and finessing that varietal to revered status. In honor of Daniel's Cask Wines program that he began in 1949, our estate-bottled vintages from 1995 through 2008 of this grape variety were originally called Cask and bore oak veneer labels. Up until then the wine consisted of 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, aged in American oak barrels. The 2009 vintage, however, saw changes both in name as well as in the production and aging regimen, and now Inglenook's Cabernet Sauvignon is blended with Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Merlot, and Malbec–-depending on the desired profile–-all of which is aged in French oak.
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Joe Czerwinski
A solid example of Napa Valley Cab, Inglenook's 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon features notes of cherry, tobacco and cassis, along with a hint of eucalyptus. A blend of 95% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3.5% Cabernet Franc, 1% Merlot and 0.5% Petit Verdot, it's medium to full-bodied, silky and focused, with decent length on the finish.
Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Blended of 95% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3.5% Cabernet Franc, 1% Merlot and 0.5% Petit Verdot, the deep garnet-purple colored 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon rocks up with ready for business scents of stewed plums, Black Forest cake, warm cassis and pencil lead with wafts of forest floor, dried Mediterranean herbs and black olives. The medium-bodied palate is chewy and refreshing with tightly wound red and black fruit layers and an herbal lift on the finish.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon is packed with inky dark fruit, chocolate, spice, new leather and licorice. Racy and voluptuous to the core, the 2018 is very easy to enjoy today. It will be even better in a few years' time, once the aromatics open a bit more. It's great to see the 2018 has the same mid-palate volume it had as a barrel sample, prior to bottling. This is a terrific showing.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon is all understatement. In this tasting, it is a bit quiet, with less exuberance than in some recent vintages. Dark red cherry, mocha, spice, cedar and licorice all open with a bit of time in the glass. Best of all, the 2018 will drink well pretty much upon release.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon is a very pretty and exotic wine. Sweet floral notes and silky tannins give the 2018 a decidedly gracious, lithe feel that is impossible to miss. Succulent red cherry, mocha, lavender, spice and cedar are all laced together in this nuanced, mid-weight Cabernet from Inglenook. There is a lot of promise here.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon is a very pretty and exotic wine. Sweet floral notes and silky tannins give the 2018 a decidedly gracious, lithe feel that is impossible to miss. Succulent red cherry, mocha, lavender, spice and cedar are all laced together in this nuanced, mid-weight Cabernet from Inglenook. There is a lot of promise here.
About the Producer
Inglenook's Chateau winery is completed. Conceived to be a state-of-the-art facility, the Chateau's design is based on gravity-flow, one of the first of its type in Napa Valley, and includes an early form of rebar—using cable from cable-cars in San Francisco—to stave off earthquake tremors and to help the building shift safely during the crush process. True to his fastidious nature in each step of the winemaking process, Niebaum devises California's first grape-sorting table and also installs the state's first bottling line to ensure the wines' provenance from growth to bottle, the latter always bearing the California Pure Wine Stamp and secured with an intricate wire maze to guarantee the wine's integrity.
