Ulysses Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
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Suckling
James -
Parker
Robert -
Spectator
Wine -
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Spirits
Wine &
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Remarkably fresh and full of energy, the Ulysses 2016 offers deep boysenberry, lavender and sage, spruce, rose petals, and wild cherry. The palate vibrates with fine - grained tannins and along, bracing finish.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Aromas of sweet berries, fresh herbs, currant bush and licorice. Terracotta. Full body, layered and soft, velvety and focused tannins. Breathtaking texture. The focus ad polished is phenomenal. Harmonious. Enticing. Fascinating and thoughtful. A blend of cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc and petit verdot. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The deeply concentrated and densely colored 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon needs additional cellaring. While its tannins are ripe and reasonably supple, the flavors need time to unfold—right now, there's a lot of dark chocolate, mocha and rich loamy notes, with black cherries and cassis yet to really blossom. Full-bodied but restrained, elegant and reserved, it's the most Bordeaux-like of these three prior vintages, still in need of additional aging.
Rating: 95+ -
Wine Spectator
This is well-built but stays restrained in style, featuring alluring cassis and blackberry flavors, lined with black tea, minerally iron and warm tobacco accents. A late flash of warm paving stone adds depth and range through the finish. Should put on weight in the cellar. Best from 2021 through 2036.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon offers more cool blue fruits, violets, and damp rock-like minerality. Similarly styled on the palate, with medium to full body and a classic structure, it reminds me of a great St. Julien. Still relatively closed and backward, yet with tons of potential, hide bottles for 4-6 years and it should evolve nicely for upwards of two decades.
Rating: 93+ -
Wine Enthusiast
With small additions of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, this robust red is herbaceous and earthy in compost and forest floor. Earl Grey tea and red currant continue the savory thread of flavor amidst soft, silky tannins and wellintegrated oak.
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Wine & Spirits
Christian Moueix bought this vineyard in Oakville’s benchlands in 2008, in a similar position against the western hills as his Dominus estate in Yountville and, as with that estate, his team dry-farms the vines. Maybe Dominus has me trained: When I tasted this blind, I thought it might be a Yountville wine—it’s green-herb and sour-cherry notes seeming cooler and finer than the rich cabernet fruit I associate with Oakville. The tart blueberry-skin flavor in the tannins feels youthful and zesty. This is an elegant Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon with a long life ahead.
Other Vintages
2019-
Dunnuck
Jeb - Vinous
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Dunnuck
Jeb -
Suckling
James -
Parker
Robert -
Spectator
Wine
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Suckling
James -
Spectator
Wine -
Spirits
Wine &
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Suckling
James -
Parker
Robert -
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Spectator
Wine
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Suckling
James - Decanter
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Parker
Robert
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Suckling
James - Decanter
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Parker
Robert
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Suckling
James -
Parker
Robert
Ulysses vineyard is situated along Napa Valley's Oakville bench at the foot of the Mayacamas range. This historic vineyard was part of the original Charles Hopper Ranch in the 1800's and was purchased by Christian Moueix in 2008. Since then, we have undertaken meticulous vineyard restoration, carefully studying the gravelly, clay loam soils and the property's microclimates. As part of our efforts toward sustainability and envirnonmental stewardship, we dry farm to enhance root depth and resistance to drought as well as to further develop in our wine the character of an exceptional terroir.
About the name
Homer's Odyssey is the epic tale of Ulysses who, after the Trojan War, travails to return to his homeland and family, a voyage of ten years. Christian Moueix, inspired by Ulysses' unending devotion to his quest, embarks on a new journey to produce a distinctive wine from the Ulysses vineyard in Oakville.
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.