Jeb Dunnuck’s Review – Vintage 2015
March 8, 2019
2015 Carte Blanche Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley – 100 Points
Lastly, and pure perfection in the glass, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon is 100% varietal from two great sites: Missouri Hopper in Oakville and Las Posadas in Howell Mountain. Aged in 100% new French oak, it offers an incredible bouquet of crème de cassis, liquid rock, graphite, lead pencil shavings, and unsmoked tobacco, with searing minerality in the aromatics as well as on the palate. Offering full-bodied richness, terrific concentration, and building tannin, this backward, dense, yet perfectly balanced 2015 needs 4-5 years of cellaring and will impress for 2-3 decades. Bravo!
2015 Carte Blanche Proprietary Red Wine, Napa Valley – 98 Points
Leading off the 2015s from this estate, the 2015 Proprietary Red is a much more Cabernet-dominated blend than the 2014 and is 59% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot and the rest Malbec. Brought up all in new French oak, this monster effort boasts a deep purple color as well as sensational notes of currants, blackberry liqueur, graphite, espresso roast and leafy herbs. Full-bodied, ripe, opulent and incredibly concentrated, this killer effort needs 2-3 years to shed some baby fat, but it’s going to keep for 2-3 decades.