Hall Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2018
Sis-in-law Pat visited and Linda served left over Beef Bourguignon from our Christmas Family Dinner the other night. For a proper wine pairing we pulled from the cellar a memorable wine which we enjoyed together during our Napa Valley Wine Experience 2013 at the Hall Napa Valley Rutherford Estate Winery and Vineyards (shown right) one of the highlights of that trip.
As I wrote at that time, we hold a dozen labels from Hall and close to a decade of vintages of this label, so it is one we know well. That evening was our first encounter with this vintage release and it exceeded our expectations, prompting us to rush out the next day and pick up several bottles.
Our tours and visits of the Hall Rutherford Winery Estate Appellation Tasting, cellar and cave tasting room have been highlights of several of Napa Wine Experiences. We enjoyed meeting Kathryn Hall at their Flagship namesake Kathryn label 2015 vintage release tour wine club tasting in Chicago in 2018, pre-covid. We first discovered Hall and their Napa Valley wines during our Napa Valley Wine Experience back in 2003.
Hall Estate Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2018
Even though this is their standard estate label, its a sophisticated Bordeaux blend of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Petit Verdot and 2% Merlot.
This is sourced from vineyards throughout Napa Valley, from Hall organic estate vineyards to 'small rugged hillside' sites of our partner growers. Hall states: "By blending these various lots, we create a rich panorama on the palate, a landscape of complexity and character that clearly depicts Napa Valley."
Winemaker notes for this release: "Our 2018 Napa Valley Cabernet is deep ruby in the glass, and displays effusive aromas of crème de cassis, dark plum, anise and dried herbs. The palate is lush and layered with fine-grained tannin supporting flavors of dark berry, cocoa, and a hint of freshly turned earth. The long and supple finish showcases the impeccable growing season that allowed us to coax the very best from each of our unique vineyard sites."
This exceptional estate bottling reflects the near perfect growing season of the Napa 2018 vintage. Hall describes the "season began in late February. Our Spring weather was mild, and allowed for extended flowering that produced very uniform grape clusters. Temperatures throughout Napa remained steady and warm during the majority of summer and fall, without any heat spikes, making for a long and unhurried harvest. The resulting wines are incredibly smooth and polished, with magnificent texture and color."
This
is one to pick-up and enjoy for early gratification or hold for a
decade or more. It will be fun to see how this evolves from graceful
cellar aging for some time.
