2019 Brion Cabernet Sauvignon Sleeping Lady Vineyard

I also loved the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Sleeping Lady Vineyard, a more classic Yountville Cabernet offering pure currant and cassis fruits as well as crushed stone, lead pencil, and damp earth. Reminding me of a great Margaux (or maybe a St. Julien?), it’s medium to full-bodied, has good acidity, ripe tannins, and beautiful balance. It’s approachable today yet will benefit from 2-4 years in the cellar and should have at least 25+ years of prime drinking. 251 cases.

The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Sleeping Lady Vineyard—made by Julian Fayard—is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon and received the same barrel treatment as the other Brion wines reviewed in this report (21 months in 80% new French oak). Loam and cedar-mulch notes appear on the nose, but as accidents to cherries and redcurrants, with just hints of cassis. Full-bodied and marked by silky-velvety richness, the wine finishes with impressive plushness and length.

The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Sleeping Lady Vineyard is superb. A rich, explosive wine, the 2019 possesses stunning richness from start to finish. The 2019 doesn’t have the immediate charm of the 2018, but it comes very, very close. Veins of tannin give this substantial Cabernet Sauvignon tons of persistence that carries through to the finish. The 2019 is a blend of three blocks off the property. The 2019 shows the tightness of a recently bottled wine, but it is fabulous. A burst of sweet red cherry fruit, pomegranate and oak add the closing flourish of intensity.