Inglenook Rubicon 2018

A lovely enticing nose filled with rich plum, fig and blackcurrant fruits - heady and opulent. The palate is precise with a distinct texture, certainly dense and ripe but the flavours just settle on the tongue giving spiced touches of liquorice but allowing the freshness and acidity to underpin the overall taste. It feels very carefully constructed with everything in place allowing power and generality but neatly packaged and not overdone. A blend of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. Wines are aged for 18 months in 100% French oak, 76% new.

Subtle and complex red with blackberry, black truffle, sweet tobacco and mahogany. Highlights of lavender and violets. Full-bodied and very tight with finesse and tension. Very polished, fine tannins. Long finish. Delicious already, but best after 2022.

The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Rubicon is based on a blend of 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, and the balance Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. It’s a more backward, closed wine, offering classy notes of crème de cassis, lead pencil shavings, freshly crushed stone, and cedar. More medium to full-bodied and elegant, I’d like to see a touch more density and richness on the mid-palate, but it's beautifully balanced, has gorgeous tannins, integrated acidity, and outstanding length on the finish. Give this classic, impressive, old school beauty 4-5 years in the cellar and enjoy over the following 15-20.

This vintage has 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. Refined and elegantly structured, it offers notes of currant, cedar and espresso, the tannins thick and firm. The savory concentration has an Old World charm and restraint with well-integrated oak. Enjoy best from 2028–2038.

Inglenook's 2018 Rubicon is a blend of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, all aged 18 months in 75% new French oak. Scents of wood-grilled cherries, graham crackers and mint mark the nose, while the medium to full-bodied palate is tannic but ripe, with a certain austerity and reserve. It finishes long, which augurs well for the future, but it just isn't particularly charming right now.