Lail Blueprint Cabernet Sauvignon 2018
-
Wine
Enthusiast -
James
Suckling -
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Connoisseurs'
Guide -
Robert
Parker
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
The 2018 Blueprint Cabernet Sauvignon is deeply-colored ruby with purple edges, showing explosive aromas of blackberry, black cherry, ripe red plum, and espresso. Sweet spicy flavors of boysenberry, dark chocolate, and cassis add further intrigue and complexity. It is layered and rich in texture - lush, creamy, and finely balanced. This is a full-throttle and totally complete vintage for Blueprint Cabernet Sauvignon.
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Enthusiast
From a range of sites and expertly blended by Philippe Melka and his team, this wine has 5% Petit Verdot and spent 18 months in French oak, half of it new. Black olive, pencil shaving, sage and cedar provide a savory context against which concentrated black cherry and plum play. Coffee makes an appearance on the finish. Enjoy 2028–2035. Cellar Selection.
-
James Suckling
Medium-to full-bodied with notes of dark fruit, berries, fresh herbs, menthol and ink. The palate is savory and dry with an ink feel and firm tannins that will be benefit from aging. Long,elegant finish. Try after 2024.
-
Jeb Dunnuck
As with the whites, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Blueprint is a larger production release that sports a dense purple color as well as classic Cabernet notes of blue and black fruits, green tobacco, graphite, and spring flowers. With a more fruit-forward style, it's still rich, medium to full-bodied, has classy tannins, and is a seriously good bottle of wine.
-
Connoisseurs' Guide
A good and gutsy young Cabernet Sauvignon that is unsparing in very deep fruit and lavishly decked out in sweet oak without ever losing its very sure fruity bearings, Lail’s latest Blueprint flirts for now with a tempting bit of succulence, while it admittedly already offers a tantalizing look at the complexity and layering that mark eminently collectable Cabernets, it is also, as serious versions are wont to be, a wine that belongs in the cellar and not on the table for a good many years. Waiting for another halfdecade is sure to bring manifold rewards, and waiting for another after that will bring even more.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Composed of 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Blueprint was aged 18 months in French oak (50% new). Deep garnet-purple in color, it delivers intense, wonderfully pure notes of crushed black currants, blackberries and black raspberries with suggestions of candied violets, charcoal and tobacco leaf with a waft of bay leaves. The medium to full-bodied palate is packed with crunchy black berry flavors, supported by approachable, grainy tannins and lovely freshness, finishing long and fruity.
Other Vintages
2021-
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Enthusiast -
Jeb
Dunnuck -
James
Suckling
-
Robert
Parker -
Jeb
Dunnuck -
James
Suckling -
Connoisseurs'
Guide
-
Wine
Enthusiast -
Jeb
Dunnuck -
James
Suckling -
Connoisseurs'
Guide
-
Wine
Enthusiast -
James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker
-
Wine
Enthusiast -
Robert
Parker
-
Robert
Parker
-
Robert
Parker -
Connoisseurs'
Guide
Robin Daniel Lail’s heritage began in 1879 with the founding of Inglenook Vineyards by her great -granduncle, the iconic Captain Gustave Niebaum. By the early 1890s, this brilliant man’s obsession for achieving the pinnacle of excellence earned Inglenook wines the status of being considered by many as the finest produced in the country.
The determination to achieve excellence was carried forward through the decades following Niebaum’s death in 1908, with a crescendo in the thirty years following the repeal of Prohibition under the meticulous, passionate stewardship of John Daniel, Jr., Robin’s father. The collection of Cabernets coming from his years of ownership is still celebrated today as some of the finest red wines on earth.
Although Inglenook was sold in 1964, the passion for winemaking did not fade. Robin inherited her father’s respect for tradition. After working as the personal assistant to her mentor, Robert Mondavi, for five years, she left in 1982 to co-found Dominus Estate with Christian Moueix. The following year she co-founded Merryvale Vineyards with Bill Harlan, serving as president for a decade, before finally launching on her eponymous venture, Lail Vineyards, with her two daughters in 1995. Today her family honors his legacy with their relentless pursuit to produce wines second to none.
One of the most prestigious wines of the world capable of great power and grace, Napa Valley Cabernet is a leading force in the world of fine, famous, collectible red wine. Today the Napa Valley and Cabernet Sauvignon are so intrinsically linked that it is difficult to discuss one without the other. But it wasn’t until the 1970s that this marriage came to light; sudden international recognition rained upon Napa with the victory of the Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon in the 1976 Judgement of Paris.
Cabernet Sauvignon undoubtedly dominates Napa Valley today, covering half of the land under vine, commanding the highest prices per ton and earning the most critical acclaim. Cabernet Sauvignon’s structure, acidity, capacity to thrive in multiple environs and ability to express nuances of vintage make it perfect for Napa Valley where incredible soil and geographical diversity are found and the climate is perfect for grape growing. Within the Napa Valley lie many smaller sub-AVAs that express specific characteristics based on situation, slope and soil—as a perfect example, Rutherford’s famous dust or Stags Leap District's tart cherry flavors.