(94+ points) The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Artist Series is a gem and well worth seeking out. Based on 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot and Syrah, brought up in 28% new oak, it offers an outstanding nose of blackcurrants, toasted spice, chocolate, and bouquet garni. Concentrated, firm and structured, with medium to full-bodied richness, it’s another age-worthy wine in the lineup that needs to be forgotten for 3-5 years.

Bright ruby-red. Pure, youthfully medicinal scents of cassis, boysenberry, blueberry, licorice, menthol, bitter chocolate and pungent herbs. Brisk, delineated, high-pitched and tightly wound, with classic medicinal Cabernet Sauvignon character in the early going. Dominant flavors of cassis, licorice, menthol and dark chocolate. I did not taste this bottle alongside its 2017 sibling, but the two wines strike me as quite similar in style and quality. This one is perhaps a bit sweeter and may open sooner but is still quite firm and tactile on the finish. -- Stephen Tanzer