2018 Forman Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

WSI97 VIN96+ The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon is silky and elegant, with lovely aromatic presence and impeccable balance. Sweet tobacco, cedar, dried flowers and mint all give this mid-weight Cabernet lovely complexity and nuance. The 2018 has shut down since I tasted it last year, but that is not surprising given the style here. Today, bright acids give the 2018 energy, tension and a good deal of precision. Those qualities should help the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon age well over the coming decades.

Ric Forman is one of California’s most iconic wine figures and has been making wine in Napa Valley since his first vintage in 1966
Ric honed his craft at Stoney Hill (where he created the first non-malo Chard in California), Sterling and Newton before purchasing land at the base of Howell Mtn in St. Helena in 1978
Forman Vineyards flagship wine is their estate grown and bottled Cabernet Sauvignon, a classic Bordeaux styled blend dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon and blended with Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot
The vineyard is located within a few hundred yards of the winery and deep underground caves where the wines rest and aged in perfect cool, dark conditions
In additon to Cabernet Ric also makes small amounts of non-malolactic Chardonnay from the Star Vineyard located on the Rutherford Bench
The long history, combined with the gravel/volcanic soils at Forman Vineyard make for classic, old world styled wines that age very well