Ink Grade Cabernet Sauvignon

Heady and explosive red and black fruit notes are intermixed with an enticing graham cracker crust and toasty oak element. Full-bodied and overflowing with pure black fruits and more savoury-sweet oak spices. Powerful mountain tannins are burly and grippy, like the vines clinging to the rocks. Gaylon Lawrence purchased Heitz Cellar in 2018, including Ink Grade estate on Howell Mountain, an organically and biodynamically farmed 303-hectare ranch with 220ha planted to vine. In 2020, Lawrence Wine Estates CEO Carlton McCoy helped engineer the launch of Ink Grade as a standalone brand led by winemaker Matt Taylor. Born and raised in Windsor, California, Taylor worked at Eisele Vineyard for six years and worked a stint at Domaine Dujac and Joseph Swan.

Expressive, with bramble and black licorice notes leading off, followed quickly by fresh black cherry and currant preserves. Features flashes of bay leaf and mesquite on the sleek finish, with a strong mineral underpinning as well. Drink now through 2035.

Marked by black cherries and cassis aromas, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon is a fairly muscular effort—not that it's big or bulky, but it shows plenty of tannic depth and a crisply acidic spine. It should be capable of aging well, even if it's not hugely pleasurable at this particular instant. It's 88% Cabernet Sauvignon and 12% Merlot aged in a mix of oak tanks and barrels.