2015 Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Luchessi Vineyard

Community Tasting Notes (4) Avg Score: 90.8 points

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  1/19/2024 - thestuer wrote: 92 Points

  Finally decided to crack one of these open. Did a '15-16 vertical with steak. Decanted about 2h, moderate sediment (relative to Jeff's typical unfiltered wines) with a medium ruby color in glass, lighter than I expected.
  Tons of herbality on the nose, with a strong black currant, cedar and slightly dark tone. Interesting carmel and acidic tension on the tongue with some coarse tannin. Such a great QPR. Slightly edged the '16 in table straw-poll, but age alone might have pushed it to the top.
  The acid/tannin combo gives me optimism for continued cellaring.
  This is pretty drinkable now but will improve and integrate in the cellar. Based on where this is now and my experience with Jeff's earlier vintages I would expect the peak around '26-28.

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  6/26/2021 - aero Likes this wine: 92 Points

  Medium+ bodied, traditional styling. Dark fruit on nose and palate, dried herbs, earth, with mocha in finish. The low-oak really works here. Good amount of Santa Cruz Mountains terroir shines through, and a good example of some mountain Cabernet Sauvignon qualities. Drinking nicely in its youth, and should last a decade or even two. Wish I had more.

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  9/24/2020 - ABECellar Likes this wine: 91 Points

  Under $40???? Wow. Just wow. Decant for 2 hours or cellar for 5 more years.

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  3/16/2019 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:

  Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard dinner (Culture Center in NYC): Very well made young cabernet. Reminds me a bit of the Smith Madrone style. It's balanced. Not too fruit forward and yet there's tons of dark fruits here. Decent body and a bit more full-bodied than some of the older wines (this is again an updated vineyard from the earlier wines). Built for aging. I liked it.

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