Brandlin Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

  • 94 Wine
    Enthusiast
  • 94 James
    Suckling
  • 94 Decanter
  • 93 Wilfred
    Wong
  • 93 Wine
    Spectator
  • 92 Jeb
    Dunnuck
  • 90 Robert
    Parker
99 99
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Brandlin Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2018  Front Bottle Shot
Brandlin Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2018  Front Bottle Shot Brandlin Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2018  Front Label

Product Details


Varietal

Region

Producer

Vintage
2018

Size
750ML

ABV
14.5%

Your Rating

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Somm Note

Winemaker Notes

#81 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2021

The 2018 vintage was a long, slightly cool season, devoid of heat spikes and late rains which offered ample hangtime through a glorious autumn for the fruit to mature without losing its underpinning structure and true character. The beauty of this ridgetop vineyard is its ability to produce wines of structure and balance. The 2018 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon is the essence of Mount Veeder, a beguiling balance of complex, sophisticated aromatics and fruit intensity wed to a core of taut yet silky tannins. Notes of cassis, lingonberry, black cherry, and crushed cocoa come to the fore with hints of violets, thyme, black tea, and kirsch all layer on a bed of velvety tannin.

Professional Ratings

  • 94

    From the producer's high-elevation site, and blended with 8% Cabernet Franc, 7% Malbec and 5% Petit Verdot, this is an earthy and brooding red. Sage, cedar and dark berry fruit combine around polished tannin and notes of crushed rock and dark chocolate, finishing with a tease of spicy clove. 

  • 94
    Lots of ripe black fruit with blackcurrant jam, nutmeg and cedar on the nose. It’s medium-bodied with layers of juicy blackberries and toasty-spice notes, framed by firm, sleek tannins. Dense palate. Try from 2022.
  • 94
    A perfumed, fresh nose filled with violets, lavender, black currants. The palate is plush, dense and precise, finishing with a purity and deftness that is increasingly hard to find in Napa. Impressively ready to drink even at this young stage.
  • 93
    COMMENTARY: The 2018 Brandlin Estate Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon stands at the top of the mountain of "cab excellence." TASTING NOTES: This wine shines with outstanding aromas and flavors of bold, black fruit, black pepper, licorice, and oak. Serve it with the first cut of a well-seasoned prime rib. (Tasted: August 7, 2021, San Francisco, CA)
  • 93
    Vivid and expressive, with a lovely beam of plum, anise and boysenberry notes sailing through, flanked with sweet bay leaf and violet notes and carrying through the lengthy finish. This has the grip to cellar too, but approachable now for its vivacious fruit. Drink now through 2034.
  • 92
    Coming all from Mt. Veeder, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate reveals a dense purple color as well as a spicy, meaty nose of darker plum and currant-like fruit intermixed with plenty of tobacco, bouquet garni, and earthy minerality. Medium to full-bodied, with plenty of fruit, solid mid-palate depth, and a good finish, enjoy this beautifully balanced mountain Cabernet over the coming 10-15 years.
  • 90
    Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Brandlin Estate opens with savory scents of grilled meats, bouquet garni and tapenade over a core of ripe black and red currants, boysenberries and black raspberries plus a touch of crushed rocks. The medium to full-bodied palate is charged with compelling tension, delivering freshness to the intense black and red fruits, framed by fine-grained tannins and finishing with a lingering herbal lift.
    Rating: 90+

Other Vintages

2019
  • 94 Wine
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  • 93 James
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  • 93 Wine
    Enthusiast
  • 92 Robert
    Parker
2016
  • 93 Wine
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2015
  • 90 Jeb
    Dunnuck
2014
  • 92 Wilfred
    Wong
  • 90 Decanter
2012
  • 93 James
    Suckling
  • 92 Wine
    Spectator
  • 90 Robert
    Parker
  • 90 Wine
    Enthusiast
Brandlin

Brandlin

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Brandlin, California
Brandlin Winery Image

Brandlin is a Napa Valley estate that produces wine from a small, historic vineyard in the Mount Veeder appellation. The wines pay homage to the Brandlin family.

The story of Brandlin vineyard began in the 1870s, when the Brandlin family settled on the steep, rocky slopes of Mount Veeder and became grape growing pioneers in this famed region of the Napa Valley.

In 1998 Cuvaison Estate Wines was honored by Henry’s son, Chester Brandlin, with rights to purchase Brandlin Vineyard. Respectfully maintaining the integrity of the estate, only a fraction of the land has been planted to vineyards carefully designed to honor the integral beauty of the property. Glens of old oak trees and sustainable viticultural practices support natural biodiversity and abundant wildlife.

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A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.

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Mt. Veeder Wine

Napa Valley, California

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Centered at the peak for which it is named, Mount Veeder is Napa’s largest sub-AVA. But even though the entire appellation spreads over 16,000 acres, vineyards cover a mere 1,000. Scattered among Douglas firs and bristlecone pines, Mount Veeder vineyards extend south from the upper elevations of the Mayacamas Mountains—the highest point at 2,400 feet—to the border of the Carneros region. Less than 25 wineries produce wine from Mount Veeder fruit.

Winemaking began early in this appellation. In 1864, Captain Stelham Wing presented the first Mount Veeder wine to the Napa County Fair; it came from today’s Wing Canyon Vineyard. Prohibition, of course, halted winemaking and viticulture wasn’t revitalized until the founding of Mayacamas Vineyards in 1951 and Bernstein Vineyards in 1964.

The Bernstein Vineyards was actually home to the first Petit Verdot in California, planted in 1975. Today most of the Petit Verdot in Napa Valley originates from this vineyard.

Rocky volcanic clay and ancient seabed matter dominate Mount Veeder soils—perfect for Bordeaux varieties. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot enjoy spectacular success. These varieties produce wines rich in brambly blackberry and black cherry fruit with herbal and floral aromatics. Structures are moderate to assertive and wines have great staying power.

Chardonnay from Mount Veeder is lush, full and balanced mineral and fresh citrus flavors.

SWS538750_2018 Item# 780932

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