Keplinger Vine Hill Ranch Napa Cabernet 2018

Wine
Tasting Notes
The 2018 Keplinger Vine Hill Ranch Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon comes from two very special blocks at the Phillips' Ranch. The mother block of the Eisele clone, the budwood for which was given by Bart Araujo to Bruce Phillips, is on a steep, east-facing slope. This stunning fruit transforms into wine with notes of cassis, cassis bud, and violets that are captivating in their purity. We fervently 'won' one ton of gorgeous fruit from this block at the 2018 Harvest Stomp Auction, which benefits the Napa Valley Farmworkers Foundation and Napa Valley Grapegrowers. Bidding far exceeded our original budget, and Bruce and Heather were so astounded by the final price, they graciously offered us a small amount of fruit from an additional block, which we enthusiastically accepted. This second block is on a bench of rhyolitic deposits, resulting in a wine of greater structure with notes of boysenberry, deep forest, white flowers, and delicate minerality. These two wines blend together seamlessly in our 2018 Vine Hill Ranch Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. The nose exhibits dark and beguiling aromas of incense, black licorice, blackberry, boysenberry, cassis bud, violets, wet earth, bakers chocolate, and new leather. The incredibly silky entry opens to a broad mid-palate with flavors of cassis, cassis bud, black licorice, and white flowers, all underpinned by ultra fine tannins through to the lengthy finish. This is a deft convergence of power, intensity, purity, and elegance in our first vintage.