Inglenook Cabernet Sauvignon Napa

The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley) is a pretty big wine in this vintage. Then again, that is 2015. Despite its considerable fruit density, the 2015 nevertheless has plenty of tannic heft beneath the fruit. Readers should expect a firm, brawny Rutherford Cabernet that is going to need time to be at its very best. Dark fruit and a virile overall feel give the wine much of its personality. Time in the glass brings out the wine's more floral components and redder tonalities of fruit. It will be interesting to see where the 2015 settles once it fully recovers from its June 2017 bottling.

Owner Francis Ford Coppola has renamed his Cask Cabernet - second wine to Rubicon - and it's a fine drink for the money in the rarified air of Napa. Winemaker Chris Phelps used all five Bordeaux red grapes from seven vineyard blocks, and the wine is loaded with savoury spice, rich dark fruits and silky tannins. Cellar Rubicon and drink this while you wait. 50% new French oak.

Blended of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petit Verdot and 1% Merlot, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon is deep garnet-purple colored and features a boisterous nose of blueberry pie, blackcurrant cordial and Black Forest cake with suggestions of chocolate mint, potpourri, baking spices and cedar chest. Full-bodied and concentrated in the mouth, it has a solid frame of chewy tannins and just enough freshness to lift the densely packed fruit to a long finish. 7,034 cases produced.