A number of weeks in the past, I used to be lucky sufficient to obtain an invite to somebody’s pretty house within the central Kentucky countryside to get pleasure from a night centered solely on wines from Napa’s Rutherford Valley. High quality was not briefly provide, with many hard-to-find vintages or bottles attainable in extremely specialised outlets. Nonetheless, this explicit choice from Sullivan Vineyards captivated my consideration.
Every little thing to like about Napa Cabernet is current and firing on full cylinders. A core of ripe black cherry and currant is surrounded by notes of darkish chocolate and cassis that by no means fall out of stability or threaten emigrate to syrup territory. On the palate, gentle notes of mint and blueberry reduce via the agency tannins and linger together with the darkish chocolate on the end for a good period of time.
Christopher reviewed the 2015 and 2017 vintages 4 years in the past to excessive reward. This, unsurprisingly, isn’t any exception. It’s participating and satisfying from begin to end. I went again for an encore solely to seek out the decanter, additionally unsurprisingly, absent however a solitary splash. It felt prison to let it lay to waste, so into my glass it went (it felt prison to go away it behind).
Intestine instinct says this can solely proceed to enhance with a couple of years within the cellar and remarked as a lot to my fellow company. Fortunately, our gracious hosts knowledgeable me they’ve two tucked away for this very function and have made buying the wine an annual occasion. Right here’s hoping for an invite and reacquaintance in 2026.
A / $150 / sullivanwine.com
2020 Sullivan Rutherford Property Cabernet Sauvignon
$150
