Including 9% Merlot, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon is a magical Cabernet as well as the finest wine made at this estate to date. Massive notes of blackcurrants, scorched earth, cedary spice, and leafy herbs all flow to a full-bodied Red Mountain Cabernet that has awesome purity of fruit, a layered, multi-dimensional texture, no hard edges, and a great, great finish. It’s going to benefit from a handful of years in the cellar and keep for two decades.

Blended with 9% Merlot, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Upchurch Vineyard has an impressive nose that embodies the essence of a world-class Cabernet. It doesn't have the pyrazine notes of green bell pepper on the nose, as the fruit is focused yet almost shy. After I got the glass spinning, the aromas blackberry, blackcurrant and black plum all sing with elegance and ease. The medium to full-bodied palate is clean and focused, showing a mineral tension with a balanced backbone with an excellent structure to carry this wine for decades. The wine is finessed with a silken tapestry of complex black fruit and rocky earth that drinks with excellent precision. The wine ends is long and taut on the extended finish that continues to evolve and show more of its secrets as time goes on. It's an exceptional wine that should age in the cellar like a champion. I have a feeling that the price is going to increase, so get it now. - Anthony Mueller

The aromas are locked up at first, displaying notes of earth, dark cherry and spice. Dense, focused, structured fruit flavors follow. One of the wines of the vintage. Don't go near this one until at least 2024. It will have a long life in the cellar beyond that.

A leafy layer to the cassis fruit here makes for a classically cabernet impression on the nose. The palate sees the fleshy merlot bolster the long, regal cab tannins and deliver plums, amid an array of fresh dark-berry flavors. A blend of 91% cabernet sauvignon and 9% merlot. Drink or hold.