2023 Vine Hill Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon VHR Oakville AVA | Napa Valley California 750ml

VHR Cabernet is an estate-grown wine of place, the culmination of the Phillips family's evolution from grape-growing to winemaking over three generations. Years of traversing vineyard rows and caring for each of Vine Hill Ranch's seven blocks have imbued a deep understanding of our estate vineyard's unique characteristics.
To produce a true wine of place, we take a minimal touch approach to winemaking: harvesting at optimal ripeness, meticulous sorting of fruit, cold soaking, extended maceration, use of native yeast and new French oak barrels. Grapes from VHR's selected blocks are vinified as separate lots to promote the full expression of the vineyard.
In the wake of the challenging 2022 vintage, the 2023 growing season presented idyllically temperate conditions and an extended harvest period at Vine Hill Ranch, absent any ill-timed heat or rain events. With ample winter rainfall and predominantly temperate growing conditions, this vintage is noted for its bright character and modest yields expressing remarkably refined structure and purity of varietal character... While limited in its production, the 2023 VHR Cabernet Sauvignon is a wine of tremendous focus and complexity from what is considered to be a truly remarkable vintage for the Napa Valley. Fruit harvested from Vine Hill Ranch's blocks 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6 contribute to a wine of exceptional site expression and varietal character, harmoniously highlighting the attributes of the individual vineyard blocks. The result is a wine that is beautifully balanced, wonderfully complex, and distinctive to my family's vineyard in Oakville.
The 2023 VHR Vine Hill Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon sports a deep garnet-purple hue with a perfume of red roses, violets, crushed rocks, and forest floor. Floral flavors, black fruit, and red berry flavors combine with firm, fine-grained tannins and lovely freshness, coalescing to produce a Cabernet Sauvignon possessing beautiful mid-palate density, a pure, layered, elegant mouthfeel, ultra-fine tannins, and a remarkably lengthy finish. 1165 cases produced. Winemaker Francoise Peschon | Vine Hill Ranch

Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon slips easily from the glass with impactful notes of black cherries, warm cassis, and red currant jelly, leading to a perfumed undercurrent of red roses, violets, crushed rocks, and forest floor. The full-bodied palate delivers tightly wound floral, black fruit, and red berry flavors with firm, fine-grained tannins and lovely freshness, finishing long and fragrant. Gorgeous! | 99 points, Lisa Perrotti-Brown for The Wine Palate

...a perfect wine based on 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from the Vine Hill Ranch Vineyard in the southern part of Oakville and was raised 22 months in 65% new French oak. Cassis, graphite, smoky tobacco, and spicy wood define the bouquet, and it is medium to full-bodied with ultra-pure fruit, a seamless profile, fine tannins, and flawless balance. There are no hard edges, and this has a remarkable sense of class and depth from start to finish. It deserves 5-7 years of bottle age and will be incredibly long-lived... | 100 points, Jeb Dunnuck for jebdunnuck.com