VHR, Napa Valley, 2019

Name: VHR, Napa Valley
Brand: Vine Hill Ranch
Price: 671.8 GBP

Available Vintages

all 2016 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

justerini & brooks tasting note

2019 Vine Hill Ranch VHR will forever sit alongside it’s preceding vintage as one half of a pair of almost perfect renditions of this remarkable vineyard. A shade richer and more profound than the 2018, the 2019 hails from the marginally warmer of the two years, though neither was punctuated by severe heat. Harvest was relatively late for this part of the world, finishing at the end of October after a five week pick. Yields were just about average. As it rises from the glass this is immediately complex, bright and deep with polished fruit, stones and mountain herbs all on display. It is a VHR that purrs at you from the get go. On the palate polished fruit notes combine with what Bruce would call Chaparral notes, a sort of mountain shrub aromatic that simultaneously smells like the forest and crushed stones. Structurally and in texture this all finesse, seductive cashmere tannins allied to natural freshness and tension. The wine offers up a glorious combination of intensity and elegance, the combination of really pleasurable fruit character mixed with a remarkable architectural framework that will repay extended aging in bottle.

critic reviews

100/100Joe Czerwinski,Robert Parker Wine Advocate

Even better than the stunning 2018, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon evokes darker-skinned berries, hinting at black cherries and cassis, while still showing the vineyard's earthy-loamy side. It's a full-bodied, plush wine, with great concentration, a rich, velvety texture and a long, elegant finish that seems to linger for several minutes. Wow!

DRINKING WINDOW 2023 - 2045

date of review 01/2024

98+/100Antonio Galloni,Vinous

The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon tastes like a barrel sample, such is its purity of fruit and lushness! It is perhaps the most opulent wine ever made here and therefore likely to require a number of years before it is even close to being ready to drink. Primary fruit and plush contours are front and center. The 2019 needs time to come together, and yet its sheer beauty is impossible to miss. The 2019 is a real head-turner, that much is clear.

DRINKING WINDOW 2029 - 2044

date of review 03/2022