Mount Eden Vineyards Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

Professional Ratings

• 95 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

  The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate is a prime example of the transparency provided by this vintage throughout California. The nose is a beautifully balanced mixture of mulberry, redcurrant, pumice and charred herbs. The palate displays classic Mount Eden elegance and bristles with soft but persistent acidity. The finish is bracing, tannic and chewy, with a tight core of dark fruits gaining intensity in the glass. A lovely, age-worthy expression of the Santa Cruz Mountains.

• 94 Wine & Spirits
  If, like me, you believe plants make a difference, the cabernet vines at Mount Eden have a pedigree that’s worth noting. Jeffrey Patterson, now the proprietor of the estate, planted these vines in the 1980s, from a selection he propagated using cuttings from the vines at Mount Eden that had been planted in the 1940s by Martin Ray. Ray, in turn, had sourced his original cuttings from La Questa, a vineyard planted in the 1890s by Emmett Rixford, using cuttings from Château Margaux. Sensitively farmed in a hospitable New World terroir, those immigrant vines have thrived at Mount Eden, producing a classical, herb-scented cabernet in 2018, its blue-fruit clarity layered with earthen tannins. Gracious, supple and approachable, even as complexity lays in wait, this wine has a firm grip that sustains its lasting flavors without a hint of excess.
• 94 Wine Enthusiast
  Mushroomy aromas of stewed shiitake and dark mahogany meet with crisp fruit on the nose of this complex bottling. Very dry tannins frame the sip in a serious veil, as flavors of sandalwood, graphite and dried dark fruit converge. This wine will last a long time. Drink 2024–2042.
  Cellar Selection
• 93 Wine Spectator
  Burly and tightly wound, with a racy, taut structure, this has a rock-solid core of damson plum, mulberry and loganberry fruit along with mouthwatering savory, cassis bush and sage accents. The long finish ripples with a note of warm gravel, giving this a decidedly old-school feel. Will be a lot of fun to watch this age in the cellar. Best from 2024 through 2038.