2018 Aperture Cabernet Sauvignon Oliver Ranch

Full bottle all of 1,725 g – so the empty bottle is almost 1 kg! Single vineyard. Aged 22 months in 60-gallon French oak barrels (85% new). Phil Freese, Aperture's viticulturist, created this vineyard. Gravel on volcanic loam. High-density planting about a mile east of Geyserville. Deep, brooding crimson. Fine cassis Cabernet fruit on nose and palate and some welcome tannin on the latter. A dry finish and not too much alcoholic heat on the end. Subtler than some of the reds from this stable. Jesse Katz's northernmost vineyard with some appetising savour. (JR)

All varietal and from the Alexander Valley, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Oliver Ranch spent 22 months in 85% new French oak prior to bottling. It gives up a beautifully pure array of crème de cassis, unsmoked tobacco, crushed stone, and floral nuances. Rich and full-bodied, it has a supple, expansive texture and rock-solid underlying tannins and structure. It should benefit from 2-4 years of bottle age and have two decades of overall longevity. 725 cases.

Deep ruby-purple, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Oliver Ranch Vineyard slowly unfolds its wings to pure violet, cassis, tobacco leaves and pencil shavings, bright notes of mint chocolate, cedar and exotic spices. The palate is stunning, fanning out seamlessly from graphite to chocolate and intense, perfectly ripe blackcurrant fruit. The tannins are extraordinarily pixelated, the freshness is bright but integrated, and it has a Goldilocks ripeness! An extraordinary Cabernet Sauvignon from Alexander Valley. 725 cases were made.