The 2014 Rubicon is part of a trajectory of change at Inglenook, begun when Philippe Bascaules arrived in 2011 as estate director. He has worked with viticulturist Enrique Herrera to moderate sun exposure on the grapes...
The 2014 Rubicon is part of a trajectory of change at Inglenook, begun when Philippe Bascaules arrived in 2011 as estate director. He has worked with viticulturist Enrique Herrera to moderate sun exposure on the grapes and to prune early, in December, so that the bloom and harvest occur earlier in the season. His goal is to avoid excess heat and to ripen the cabernet during August, as he believes early ripening to be more efficient, allowing him to pick fruit without the cooked flavors that might come with longer hang time. He shortened the growing season by ten days between 2012 and 2013, and an additional three days in 2014, selecting the most perfectly ripe grapes for Rubicon. His 2014 may be the finest release yet under his tenure, a classical Rutherford cabernet with sapid red fruit and the kind of deep, umami-rich tannins that André Tchelistcheff once described as Rutherford dust. Or maybe they’re a little more gravelly than that. Those distinctive tannins allow the wine to feel elegant and clean while still lending it tensile strength.