2018 Mount Eden Cabernet Sauvignon

A “wow” wine with a few years of bottle aging already into it, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot. A cool harvest season kept things slow, steady, and unrushed, which shows in the gracefulness of the wine, beautiful in high-acidity and freshness, dusty tannins, and enduring structure. The redcurrant fruit is seasoned in graphite, dried herb, and black peppercorn, complex and intriguing throughout, with a medium-bodied weight that feels light and finessed. This should age with further grace another 20-25 years. Mount Eden is one of the most historic and storied names in the Santa Cruz Mountains, founded in 1945 at 2,000-feet elevation. Longtime owner/winemaker Jeffrey Patterson came to work as the assistant winemaker here in 1981. In 2007, he bought the old 55-acre Cinnabar Winery for Domaine Eden, a sister brand. Patterson describes the Santa Cruz Mountains as “a vertical place,” its Chaine d’Or stretching from Thomas Fogarty on its northern end south to Rhys, Ridge, Mount Eden, and Domaine Eden. Patterson and his family acquired the majority of the winery in 2008, and the second generation remains involved. Austin Chin has been assistant winemaker since 2018.