Hobel 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon The Figure Napa Valley 98 Points

Winery Notes: “We have worked with the Pozzan vineyard in Calistoga for six vintages and the 2019 is another step up in quality. The wine is much darker in color and, not surprisingly, the aromas are also of blue and black fruit and dark chocolate. The oak is beautifully integrated adding hints of resin, graphite, toast and coconut. The palate is extremely dense, with hints of ripe blackberries, boysenberries and Persian lavashak, enveloped by dusty fine-grained tannin. This is no doubt the best The Figure to date – a real powerhouse built for age.”

The Vintage: Starting with an abundance of Winter rain, which continued into May, the 2019 growing season was generous without being overly so at the Pozzan Vineyard. 2019 offered a return to a more centerline crop load. Through the perfectly dry summer months, temperatures remained warm, without excessive heat spikes. This consistency continued into the Fall where the fruit was allowed to hang as long as needed to gain full phenological maturity. This generous growing season is particularly advantageous for a rocky, hillside vineyard like Pozzan which typically reaches full maturity towards the end of October. The end result is a fully realized wine that possess incredible fruit density, complexity and power.

Thomas Rivers Brown: “I might sound like a little bit of a broken record but, once again, the Pozzan vineyard produced fruit a touch better than the year before. Another year of vine age and a consistent growing season without extremes gave this wine an extra punch. Harvested late October, The Figure is super dense and powerful in 2019 and continues to be the cornerstone for Hobel.”