2018 Cornell Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Estate

The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Commitment is dazzling. Elegant, deep and wonderfully sophisticated, the 2018 is plush, deep and beautifully layered from start to finish. Black cherry, plum, mocha, licorice and spice all meld together. The tannins are present, but they are nearly buried by the sheer intensity of fruit. An extra year of oak adds textural richness while softening some of the contours that these wines can show in their youth.

The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon is elegant and nuanced from the very first taste. Over the last year, the 2018 has developed from a powerhouse into a much more refined wine. There is plenty of mountain tannin and structure, but those elements are completely enrobed by the fruit. Hints of iron, cedar, dried herbs, mint and sweet red cherry fruit emerge with a bit of time in the glass. The 2018 is a very rare, quintessentially elegant mountain Cabernet. Best of all, the 2018 won't take years to come together. I would drink it ahead of the 2016 or 2017, but if opened young it needs several hours of aeration.

The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon is the wine that establishes Cornell as a major player in California. The last few vintages provided some clues as to where this wine was going, but the 2018 really crystallizes all of the investment and work that has been done here over the years. Dark, voluptuous and incredibly alluring, the 2018 simply has it all. Black cherry, graphite, leather, menthol and spices are some of the many aromas and flavors that develop with a bit of time in the glass. My only regret is having had to move on to my next appointment, as the 2018 was absolutely riveting when I tasted it last fall.