Vine Hill Ranch VHR Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville 2019

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

Critical Acclaim

100 Wine Advocate

Even better than the stunning 2018, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon evokes darker-skinned berries, hinting at black cherries and cassis, while still showing the vineyard’s earthy-loamy side. It’s a full-bodied, plush wine, with great concentration, a rich, velvety texture and a long, elegant finish that seems to linger for several minutes. Wow!

99 Jeb Dunnuck

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 doesnt get much more classic Oakville.

98 James Suckling

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 Vinous

The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon tastes like a barrel sample, such is its purity of fruit and lushness! It is perhaps the most opulent wine ever made here and therefore likely to require a number of years before it is even close to being ready to drink. Primary fruit and plush contours are front and center. The 2019 needs time to come together, and yet its sheer beauty is impossible to miss. The 2019 is a real head-turner, that much is clear.

98 Wine Enthusiast

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 20292039.