Napa Valley's 2016 growing season turned out a terrific vintage, with balanced wines capable of long term cellaring, and the Ulysses 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon from one of Oakville's best sites is no exception. This full-bodied red shows the power and finesse of the vintage, as the fantastic growing season imbued the fruit with perfect ripeness. Tasting this 2016 in May of 2024, it is still youthful and subtly teeming with youthful, crunchy blackberry and black cherry fruit, spiced plums, and fragrant tobacco and cedarwood spices. Even at first sip, the towering structure is evident, with tannins like firm vertical beams that build through a richness balanced by focused acidity that has a spicy edge. Nuances of dried flowers, sagebrush, and crushed river stones add intrigue, and the wine has a beautiful purity to it throughout, like a gorgeous Pauillac, bright and lifted and concentrated all at once.

The deeply concentrated and densely colored 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon needs additional cellaring. While its tannins are ripe and reasonably supple, the flavors need time to unfold—right now, there's a lot of dark chocolate, mocha and rich loamy notes, with black cherries and cassis yet to really blossom. Full-bodied but restrained, elegant and reserved, it's the most Bordeaux-like of these three prior vintages, still in need of additional aging.

The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon offers more cool blue fruits, violets, and damp rock-like minerality. Similarly styled on the palate, with medium to full body and a classic structure, it reminds me of a great St. Julien. Still relatively closed and backward, yet with tons of potential, hide bottles for 4-6 years and it should evolve nicely for upwards of two decades.

Wet winter led to dense canopies. Good flowering. Ripening slowed by cool, fog-prone August. Lots of warmth in the second half of September before harvest 24 September to 1 October. 1,300 cases produced. Deep glowing ruby. Very Cabernet nose. Then rather luscious fruit on the palate and a bit more like conventional Napa than the earthy 2015. A little dry on the end. Quite youthful. (JR)