2018 Woodward Canyon Cabernet Sauvignon Old Vines

My favorite in the lineup, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Old Vines is 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Petit Verdot and 3% Malbec, all aged 22 months in new barrels. Loads of ripe red and black fruits, dried herbs, crushed stone, and savory herb notes give way to a full-bodied, concentrated, yet beautifully balanced, weightless Cabernet that will benefit from 4-6 years in the cellar and keep for two decades or more.

Bright, dark ruby-red. Brooding, almost inky scents of blackberry, blueberry, licorice, dark chocolate and minerals. Tightly wound but already seamless and fine-grained, with a high pitch to its flavors of dark berries, herbs, licorice and spicy oak. The impression of inner-mouth energy carries through to the firmly tannic, bright, lifted finish, which leaves the salivary glands quivering. Still quite dry and youthfully imploded, and in need of cellaring. This began a touch sweeter than the Artist Series #27 but turned more penetrating and less pliant with 24 hours in the recorked bottle.