2018 Inglenook Rubicon Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Estate

The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Rubicon is a dark, sumptuous beauty. Silky contours and soft curves wrap around a core of inky dark fruit, chocolate, new leather, licorice, spice and dried herbs. All the elements come together in this racy, opulent Cabernet from Inglenook. I am not sure Rubicon is meaningfully better or more complex than the Cabernet Sauvignon in 2018. It is richer and creamier, to be sure, but not necessarily more complex.

88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot. Deep purple colour. Brambly and intense on the nose, layered with sweet spice that is in harmony with the fruit. The palate is glossy and ripe but not overdone. Damsons and cassis burst through with real intensity. This fleshy, succulent wine is full bodied and concentrated but well-proportioned. It should improve with time in bottle. (TP)

There is the smokiest, sexiest, barely there and yet so precise sense of power. Just a great mix between the generosity of Napa and the elegance and balance of a European winemaking mindset. The tannins show sinew and muscle but allow juice to flow through them from beginning to end. An excellent vintage that once again shows Rubicon setting the pace for Rutherford Cabernet, and proving how nuanced and thrilling it can be. All aged in French oak barrels, 75% new. Philippe Bascaules winemaking director.