2016 VHR Cabernet Sauvignon Vine Hill Ranch
Community Tasting Note
WineBurrowingWombat Likes this wine:
Tuesday, October 17, 2023 - Cracking the whip; 10/16/2023-10/23/2023 (Eagan, MN): N: Clean new oak (akin to that new leather smell of a brand new car), cut stems of a flower, a clean and dry forest floor with a blend of black and dark red fruits, and a subtle dusting of graphite.
P: Black and red fruits, a core of beautiful dark graphite and tar, deep earth to soften the landing of any roughness, fine black minerals, and golden steeped tea on the finish. There’s an aura of savoriness that envelops everything, protecting everything from sharp edges or random stiff arms. With time, flavors come together in a beautiful integration of everything, while keeping a dark, serious profile. Deep roasted coffee beans develop as well, with its tasty bitterness, strong earthiness and bright, savory stones.
A regal darkness but with such class and grace, like a badass villain that you would cheer for.. you know you shouldn’t be, but you do anyways because of the charm and charisma the character brings (like Loki or Wukong). Amazing now and should develop into near perfection within a handful of years. This is something you should definitely try to follow along throughout the years if you have the bottles. If you’re having now, pop and pour and journey along.
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24 comments have been posted
8 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue (4,279 views)
Comment posted by Mark1npt:
10/30/2023 5:31:00 PM - Sooooo good! I only have one of these left. Sounds like a great time!
Comment posted by tyfabes:
10/30/2023 7:45:00 PM - Haven't opened one in almost a year, but I stare at them often when I look for something in the cellar. It took about 6 hours to strut its stuff last year, so curious how long this one took to come out of it's shell? Pop and pour (if that's what you did) isn't for the faint of heart, at least not yet! :)
Great note, thank you, Wombat!
Comment posted by WineBurrowingWombat:
10/30/2023 9:05:00 PM - @Mark - Ohh.. tricky, depends how you like your poison I guess :P
@tyfabes - Thanks for the kind words!
I mean, if you have a few to spare, I'd crack into one LOL! This one was a pop and pour and it was already showing well straight from the bottle. Followed along for the rest of the evening and not once did it falter. I presume much better integration, better nuance with still a bold delivery with its flavors.
Comment posted by MJP Hou TX:
10/31/2023 9:39:00 AM - A personal favorite. Glad you enjoyed it as much!
Comment posted by TXRDW:
10/31/2023 1:44:00 PM - I’m curious as to the back end of the VHR drinking window given so many Napa wines seem to peak at the 5-7 year mark. One of the risk/reward aspects of this hobby that makes for an intriguing decision. Certainly VHR seems to be on the long side of a Napa window.
Comment posted by WineBurrowingWombat:
10/31/2023 1:53:00 PM - Damn.. I agree too, it will be too hard to tell sometimes with Napa wines. The '12 still showed amazingly though, if I had a bunch of '12s, I would try another one in another 5 years but doing that is another challenge in itself, them being so good now.
Comment posted by MJP Hou TX:
10/31/2023 2:00:00 PM - Depends on what you consider peak and I think that is a moving target based on your journey. The Araujo wines from the 90's are killer right now. My guess is Francoise built these wines in a similar fashion.
Comment posted by WineBurrowingWombat:
10/31/2023 2:04:00 PM - Man.. always learning from you, MJP. That one Araujo I had at IRBDW's was so damn good too. Could probably last another 4-6 years at least before really reaching bolder tertiary notes.
Comment posted by Mark1npt:
10/31/2023 2:37:00 PM - Rob, my 2 cents.....they are spectacular at 3-15 years. I haven't had one older than that but being made by Francois Peschon, I'd bet they are graceful animals for 30 years given the quality of the fruit and the winemaking involved.
Comment posted by Mark1npt:
10/31/2023 2:40:00 PM - Marv, I had an '08 back in March that was every bit of 96-97 and still quite strong with fruit.....
Comment posted by Mark1npt:
10/31/2023 2:41:00 PM - MJP, that's a great comparison with those Araujo......I feel similarly.
Comment posted by TXRDW:
10/31/2023 2:45:00 PM - Mark - I had a 2004 Cain Five this past weekend that was phenomenal, but my preference has been 7-10 years, though MJP is making a believer out of me on going out further.
Comment posted by Mark1npt:
10/31/2023 2:51:00 PM - Rob, if the wine is made in the right long haul style, there's no doubt we can enjoy them longer, like with the Cain. I'd put VHR, MacDonald, and many others in that same category even today, however, winemakers like Venge, Smith and to a certain extent TRB make all their wines to be drunk relatively young. I have not been happy with 10+ year old TRB or Smith wines, not even the upper end like Maybach or Carter. Imo, those all need to be had at that magical 5-7 year time period. Having said that.....'18 was such an outlier vintage, we may have to wait on those for 15 years, even from those 'drink now' producers I noted above....and it looks like the '23 vintage may even out live the '18s or at least be on par.
Comment posted by TXRDW:
10/31/2023 2:57:00 PM - Mark, I’ve found the Materium to peak very early, as with Carter and several others. On the other hand I had a 2013 Dunn recently that wasn’t quite ready. Such an interesting & addictive hobby!!
Comment posted by WineBurrowingWombat:
10/31/2023 3:31:00 PM - @TXRDW - was that a Dunn Howell mt.? I've been wanting to pop a '13 and '14 to see how they are now.
Comment posted by Mark1npt:
10/31/2023 3:35:00 PM - Rob, Dunn is on a level with old man Arrowood from the '90s, not their current wines.....Dunn '07s and '08s are doing ok right now but I wouldn't drink anything younger than that! I have '12 I'm still sitting on. They are 30-40 year wines, too. Basically, (in a nutshell) any big fruity over the top Napas that get 99-100 points (other than VHR) need to be had in that 5-7 year window. Others like Cain, Dunn, VHR, Scarecrow, Harlan, Bond can be 20-30-40 year wines if you like them that well aged. As I've said numerous times on here, I am fortunate in that I like most all wines in all stages of their development. Just because a '16 Dunn or VHR may get 100 points, doesn't mean it stays a 100 point wine all along its life's journey. Some of the winos out there paying big bucks for 100 pointers, think they are 100 points FOREVER and that simply is not true. Some of those 100 point wines may have only a year or two in their life where they actually drink that way and you have to be very fortunate to catch them right at the one point in their development where they actually drink at 100 points, and imo that is harder to time than the stock market.....
Comment posted by Mark1npt:
10/31/2023 3:37:00 PM - ps, Rob.....I was able to compare an '08 Materium and an '08 VHR this past year and while only 1-2 points apart in my scoring they were very different wines with the Materium drinking much older than the VHR. I found them both enjoyable but for totally different reasons.
Comment posted by Mark1npt:
10/31/2023 3:55:00 PM - Marv, makes no difference.....even their NV's need time. Their NV has Howell fruit in it, too.
Comment posted by MJP Hou TX:
10/31/2023 4:50:00 PM - I don't have as much experience to go but I do have an opinion based on a limited sample set.
Francoise (Araujo), Forman (Early Abreu) form the majority of my experience. Lower ABV more balanced wines that wouldn't appease most modern palates that want to drink wines early.
I've heard the term rolling over used on wines that don't age well. Flabby, flat, no energy wines that should be consumed early. Robert Parker's palate influenced a lot of proprietors to score chase which I believe was to the detriment of the classics.
Regardless, it's all personal preference.
Comment posted by MJP Hou TX:
10/31/2023 4:52:00 PM - @Mark, very well said and I totally agree.
Comment posted by Mark1npt:
10/31/2023 4:59:00 PM - MJP.....dead bang on, with your comments on the lower alcohol/balanced wines. That style plays for a long, long time.
Comment posted by TXRDW:
10/31/2023 5:02:00 PM - Mark - Yes, the 2013 Dunn was a Howell Mountain and you could tell it was a great wine, but still quite tannic. I did try a 2014 back in May and it was much more approachable. The Dunn that has be excited is their 2017 El Camino, however I’ll likely have to wait till I’m an octogenarian before it is ready to drink :)
Comment posted by WineBurrowingWombat:
10/31/2023 5:18:00 PM - @MJP - When I get to Texas, I'm comin over to bum some Araujo :P
@TXRDW - You probably know this, '14 is the vintage the son started making the wine. I've had '13 and '14 side by side, the difference in style is sort of noticeable. I too preferred the '14 at the time I had it.
Comment posted by Mark1npt:
10/31/2023 5:35:00 PM - Rob, I'll be 66 yo in February.....I'm buying no more Bdx and very few new Napa to age. I have plenty of both for the next 10-20 years. I'll drink what I have and continue to backfill with wines/vintages I really like.