ULYSSES ESTATE NAPA VALLEY 2015 750ML

Consisting of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, all from Christian Moueix's Oakville site, the 2015 Ulysses Cabernet Sauvignon is an extremely rich wine with both subtlety and compactness. The aromas are beautifully delicate, almost breakable, with black cherry and plums and black and red currants infused with sumptuous tobacco notes, white pepper spices, and cedarwood. Seductive and medium-bodied, the palate shows satiny smooth tannins that are present and perfectly integrated at this point and that builds through a lengthy finish marked by sweet cassis, Bing cherry fruit, and a firm spine of lacy acidity, keeping everything light and refreshing. A fragrant crushed river stone note adds buoyancy as the finish continues to entice. What a wine.

Aromas of dark fruit, such as blackberries and black olives, as well as black tea and tanned leather. Raspberries and lemon spices, too. Full-bodied, very tight and polished with beautiful tannins and a weave of fruit and acidity to beautifully buttress the whole wine. Balanced and bright for the vintage. Drink in 2020 and onwards.

Made by the team at Dominus, yet from a slightly different terroir that’s more draining and slightly lesser density plantings, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon is 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot, and 5% Cabernet Franc. It’s a vibrant, elegant wine that has an exotic character in its blue fruits, gravelly minerality, dried herbs, and savory forest floor aromas and flavors. Medium to full-bodied, with good concentration and integrated acidity, it needs 3-5 years of bottle age to come together and is a beautiful wine.

The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon remains relatively primary, with cedar and vanilla notes atop cherry and cassis. Medium to full-bodied, it's smooth, rich and supple, concentrated but finessed, finishing long and silky, adding touches of dark chocolate, mocha and licorice. This looks capable of aging for at least another 20 years, but it's far from being inaccessible now.

The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon is a powerful, deep wine. Dark-toned fruit, leather, incense, tobacco, dried herbs and graphite are boldly sketched. Broad swaths of tannin envelop the palate, providing an ample frame as the 2015 gradually begins to open with air. This has aged quite well. In fact, it still retains considerable textural intensity and concentration. Readers can look forward to another decade of exceptional drinking.

From the Ulysses Vineyard in Oakville, and blended with small amounts of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, this wine impresses in earthy sage, clove, cedar and tobacco. Old World in style, it has appealing aspects of crushed rock and structured tannin, with just a hint of dark chocolate and currant.

This is well-fruited, though it tilts toward red on the spectrum, with cassis, plum and cherry compote notes forming the core, while the polished structure, a kiss of apple wood, and lingering flashes of tobacco and alder mark the finish. Offers a finishing kick, so there’s a touch more evolution to occur.