Joseph Phelps Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

Professional Ratings

• 96 James Suckling

  Very pretty blackberry, blackcurrant, walnut, forest-flower and dark-walnut aromas follow through to a full body with round, juicy tannins that are fine-grained and beautiful. Lovely length and generosity, but reserved at the finish to give it tension. Mostly from the Soscol vineyard. 97% cabernet sauvignon. Drink or hold.

• 93 Wine Spectator
  Ripe and lush up front, with waves of cassis, mulled plum and blackberry compote underscored by singed alder and graphite on the finish, adding grip. This is packed and well-built. Best from 2022 through 2032. Tasted twice, with consistent notes.
• 92 Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
  COMMENTARY: The 2018 Joseph Phelps Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon brings richness and firmness to the fore and stays steady through the wine's finish. TASTING NOTES: This wine exhibits focused aromas and flavors of black fruit and graphite, with a hint of oak. Enjoy it with lightly-seasoned, grilled short ribs. (Tasted: August 22, 2020, San Francisco, CA)
• 92 Jeb Dunnuck

  The larger production 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley shows the vintage nicely and has a classic, balanced, medium to full-bodied style that offers textbook Cabernet Sauvignon notes of crème de cassis, smoke tobacco, damp earth, and chocolate. Medium to full-bodied and nicely concentrated, this is a young, relatively unevolved, yet beautifully balanced 2018 that will benefit from 2-4 years of bottle age and keep for 10-15 years.

• 92 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

  The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon is a blend of 97% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Cabernet Franc and 1% Malbec, coming from vineyard locations in south Napa Valley, St. Helena, Oak Knoll District and Stags Leap District. It was aged for 18 months in 40% new (51% American, 49% French) and 60% one- to two-year-old French and American oak barrels. Deep garnet-purple colored, it does pirouettes out of the glass with notes of crushed blackberries, wild blueberries and ripe blackcurrants plus hints of lilacs, menthol, forest floor and pencil shavings with a touch of wild sage. Medium-bodied, the palate is as intense as it is elegant, featuring layers of fresh black and blue fruits and gentle herbal accents, framed by firm, grainy tannins and plenty of freshness, finishing long and minerally.  Rating: 92+

• 90 Connoisseurs' Guide

  Marked by very careful making as much as it is by the deep and incisive, blackcurrant fruit of authentic Cabernet Sauvignon with a discreet complement of neatly placed oak lending a boost in overall richness without ever challenging that fruit, this balanced, moderately full-bodied wine stays in frame from beginning to end with integrated tannins providing a nice, not overbearing, bit of ageworthy grip. Expect a fairly long life, a good ten years without fail, but its already evident polish suggests that it will be hard to resist in half that time.