2015 TOR Cabernet Sauvignon Herb Lamb Vineyard

The Herb Lamb Vineyard is below the Howell Mountain appellation line yet above the St. Helena appellation line. The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Herb Lamb Vineyard was fermented in a single closed-top tank for about 14 days. The goal for this wine was not maximum extraction but rather to best express the singular profile of this historic vineyard. It saw no more than two pump-overs a day and had a maximum fermentation temperature of 86 degrees Fahrenheit. Following completion of the primary fermentation, the wine was put down to new Taransaud barrels, where it stayed for 18 months until being bottled unfined and unfiltered. It opens with crème de cassis, black cherry pie, plums and cedar with touches of tobacco, bay leaves and earth. The palate is full-bodied, velvety, lively, expressive and earthy with an herbal lift to the finish. 225 cases produced.

Tor's 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Herb Lamb Vineyard is terrific. In a vintage in which so many wines are monolithic, the Herb Lamb possesses captivating aromatics and silky tannins that seem to bring out the best this site has to offer. Super-ripe red cherry, raspberry, hard candy and wild flowers give the 2015 a level of sensual exoticism that is impossible to miss. There is so much to like. Tor Kenward and winemaker Jeff Ames have done a superb job in bringing out the essential signatures that make Herb Lamb one of the most intriguing sites in Napa Valley.

There’s nine barrels of the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Herb Lamb Vineyard and it comes from a cool, northeast facing site at the bottom of Howell Mountain. It sports a deep purple color as well as a complex bouquet of plums and blackcurrants as well as loads of spice, incense, violets, and tobacco. It’s a rich, full-bodied, nicely concentrated 2015 and has sweet tannin, a full, layered mid-palate and plenty of length, and it’s already drinking nicely today, albeit benefits from a decade. It should keep nicely for 15-20 years.