2019 Inglenook, Rubicon, Rutherford, Napa Valley, California, USA
Critics reviews
Drink 2026 to 2042
Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux (August 2022)
The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Rubicon offers a captivating mix of textural intensity and vibrancy. Black cherry, spice, rose petal, menthol and licorice are all beautifully delineated. A wine of vertical lift and drive, the 2019 has the vibrancy to develop beautifully for years to come.
Drink 2025 - 2039
Antonio Galloni, vinous.com (Jan 2022)
The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Rubicon is a blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet-purple in color, the nose pops with vivacious notes of warm cassis, blackberry pie and redcurrant jelly, plus hints of crushed rocks, bay leaves and pencil lead. Medium to full-bodied, it delivers a solid, firm and grainy texture with a lively backbone cutting through dense earth-laced layers, finishing long and minerally. Impressive!
Drink 2024 - 2044
Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Advocate (Oct 2021)
Aromas of ripe berries, sweet vanilla, licorice, dark chocolate and bread crust. Notes of dried herbs and pinewood, too. So well grounded. Smooth, with a lingering, silky mouth-feel. Full body and ripe, chewy tannins. Toned and muscular with hints of crushed rocks. Firm, linear finish. Try after 2025.
James Suckling, jamessuckling.com (Jan 2022)
The flagship 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Rubicon is slightly deeper purple-hued and checks in as a blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Petit Verdot. It's a clear step up, offering a terrific nose of ripe cassis and spiced currant fruits as well as cedary herbs, tobacco, and earth. Nicely concentrated, medium to full-bodied, and balanced, it has plenty of up-front charm (as do most 2019s) yet will have two decades of longevity. It needs plenty of air to show at its best today, so don't be afraid to put this in a decanter. 7363 cases.
Drink 2022 - 2042
Jeb Dunnuck, jebdunnuck.com (Mar 2022)
About this WINE
Inglenook
Inglenook was established in the top-rated Rutherford appellation in Napa Valley in 1879 by a Finnish sea captain, Gustave Niebaum. After a chequered history, which included the winery shutting down during prohibition, the estate regained its original reputation for producing very fine wine during the 1940s when it was owned by John Daniel.
In 1975 film director Francis Ford Coppola purchased the majority of the acreage under vine, using his profits from The Godfather films. He named the wines made during his ownership Niebaum Coppola, and in 1995 purchased the totality of the estate.
Finally, in 2008, Coppola was able to purchase the trademark of Inglenook, and announced that from that moment onwards the wines would all once again be known by their original name of Inglenook. The first such release was the 2008 vintage. The consulting oenologist here is the celebrated Stephane Derenencourt, who has done so much to refine the production in a clutch of top-class Bordeaux chateaux.
Rutherford
Rutherford, located in the heart of Napa Valley, California, is particularly celebrated for its exceptional Cabernet Sauvignon. This small yet prestigious appellation, or American Viticultural Area (AVA), is nestled between the towns of Oakville and St. Helena, covering approximately 6,650 acres of vineyards.
Rutherford's prime location on an alluvial fan created by the Napa River and its tributaries results in gravelly, loamy soils that provide ideal drainage for vine growth. The region’s terroir is further influenced by its proximity to the Mayacamas and Vaca mountain ranges, which help shape its warm Mediterranean climate. This climate, characterised by hot days and cool nights, ensures that grapes retain acidity while developing rich, complex flavours.
The defining feature of Rutherford's terroir is often referred to as "Rutherford Dust," a term popularised by the legendary winemaker André Tchelistcheff. This phrase captures the unique soil characteristics that impart a distinctive, dusty, earthy quality to the wines, particularly the Cabernet Sauvignon. These wines are known for their robust structure, with deep flavours of dark fruit like blackberry and blackcurrant, complemented by secondary notes of cocoa powder, cedar, and a fine-grained tannin structure. The result is a wine that stands out in its youth and has the potential to age gracefully, developing even more complexity over time.
Rutherford's history is deeply intertwined with the development of Napa Valley as a premier wine-producing region. The area's viticultural roots trace back to the mid-19th century, when George C. Yount, a pioneering settler, planted the first vineyards in Napa Valley. The region was named after Thomas Rutherford, who received land from Yount as a wedding gift and began cultivating grapes. Rutherford’s reputation grew significantly through the contributions of historic wineries like Inglenook, which played critical roles in establishing Napa Valley's international acclaim.
Cabernet Sauvignon blend
Cabernet Sauvignon lends itself particularly well in blends with Merlot. This is actually the archetypal Bordeaux blend, though in different proportions in the sub-regions and sometimes topped up with Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot.
In the Médoc and Graves the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend can range from 95% (Mouton-Rothschild) to as low as 40%. It is particularly suited to the dry, warm, free- draining, gravel-rich soils and is responsible for the redolent cassis characteristics as well as the depth of colour, tannic structure and pronounced acidity of Médoc wines. However 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wines can be slightly hollow-tasting in the middle palate and Merlot with its generous, fleshy fruit flavours acts as a perfect foil by filling in this cavity.
In St-Emilion and Pomerol, the blends are Merlot dominated as Cabernet Sauvignon can struggle to ripen there - when it is included, it adds structure and body to the wine. Sassicaia is the most famous Bordeaux blend in Italy and has spawned many imitations, whereby the blend is now firmly established in the New World and particularly in California and Australia.
When is a wine ready to drink?
We provide drinking windows for all our wines. Alongside the drinking windows there is a bottle icon and a maturity stage. Bear in mind that the best time to drink a wine does also depend on your taste.
Not ready
These wines are very young. Whilst they're likely to have lots of intense flavours, their acidity or tannins may make them feel austere. Although it isn't "wrong" to drink these wines now, you are likely to miss out on a lot of complexity by not waiting for them to mature.
Ready - youthful
These wines are likely to have plenty of fruit flavours still and, for red wines, the tannins may well be quite noticeable. For those who prefer younger, fruitier wines, or if serving alongside a robust meal, these will be very enjoyable. If you choose to hold onto these wines, the fruit flavours will evolve into more savoury complexity.
Ready - at best
These wines are likely to have a beautiful balance of fruit, spice and savoury flavours. The acidity and tannins will have softened somewhat, and the wines will show plenty of complexity. For many, this is seen as the ideal time to drink and enjoy these wines. If you choose to hold onto these wines, they will become more savoury but not necessarily more complex.
Ready - mature
These wines are likely to have plenty of complexity, but the fruit flavours will have been almost completely replaced by savoury and spice notes. These wines may have a beautiful texture at this stage of maturity. There is lots to enjoy when drinking wines at this stage. Most of these wines will hold in this window for a few years, though at the very end of this drinking window, wines start to lose complexity and decline.
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Description
A storming, stonking Napa wine, playing at the top of its game in 2019. Somehow takes the power and concentration of Napa but makes it full of texture, life, light and shade. Espresso, liqourice root, cocoa bean, cassis, cranberry, black cherry, cold ash and crayon. Hard not to fall in love with, nothing overdone, everything in its place. Director of winemaking Philippe Bascaules. All aged in French oak barrels, 75% new.
Drink 2026 to 2042
Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux (August 2022)
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