2013 Vineyard 29 "29 Estate" Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
SKU #1278494
100 points
Wine Advocate
Absolutely sublime is the blend of 98% Cabernet Sauvignon (from the Richard Grace clone of Cabernet) and 2% Merlot from the hillside vineyards, the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon 29 Estate. There are 750 cases of this profound wine, which was aged in 85% new French oak for 20 months prior to being bottled and filtered. This was planted in 1989, so the vineyards are a quarter-century old. Opaque purple, with notes of creosote, incense, spring flowers, blueberry and blackberry liqueur, the wine has knockout ripeness, a multilayered, textured, full-bodied mouthfeel, but no hard edges, velvety tannin and a finish that goes on for a good 50+ seconds. This is the finest Cabernet Sauvignon ever to emerge from the 29 Estate and a credit to the proprietors Anne and Chuck McMinn. (RP)
(10/2015)
95 points
Vinous
Healthy dark ruby. Knockout aromas of medicinal black cherry, menthol and licorice complicated by a whiff of fruity cocoa powder and lifted by a violet topnote. Plush and compellingly fine-grained, with a sexy sweetness perfectly countered by savory soil tones. Impeccably balanced and alive for all its power and richness. The substantial chewy tannins arrive late and mount slowly, spreading out to saturate the entire palate and coat the incisors. There's something Merlot-like about this wine's rich, lush texture and chocolate/cocoa notes, so I wasn't surprised when Winemaker Emerson told me that 2% Merlot from Aida Vineyard was added to the blend. This may be the most complete vintage of Vineyard 29 made to date, and it appears to be built for a graceful evolution in bottle. Perhaps not coincidentally, the estate essentially discontinued the use of heavy-toast barrels as of vintage 2013. (AG)
(4/2018)