Nichols Cabernet Rutherford Napa Valley | Essence of Age-worthy Napa Cab – experience Britt Nichols wine!
The Nichols Cabernet Rutherford Napa Valley 2014 is comprised of 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Opaque purple in hue. The aromas are classic Rutherford, featuring a mouthwatering mix of blackberry, mountain blueberry, violets, and graphite, tinged with French-cooperage cedar. Plush, dense, and compact on the attack, soft yet chewy in texture, packed with black-fruit preserves and crème de cassis, finishing with superb, age-worthy backbone. Drink now for its youthful hedonism — if you’re utterly impatient — or do as we’re doing, and lay down Britt Nichols’ finest effort to date until the early 2020s. It could surely use the rest.
More about Britt Nichols
After tasting Britt Nichols’ 2013 Rutherford Cab, we didn’t think the young enologist could climb much higher. Then came 2014, the year Wine Spectator called a “dream vintage,” and Robert Parker deemed, “excellent.” Squared up against it’s older sibling, Britt’s 2014 gets the nod. Tasted in a lineup of Rutherford heavyweights with higher profiles and much higher price tags, Britt’s 2014 still holds its own. That’s because it’s made from the same heavyweight fruit — a historic vineyard just a stone’s throw from Caymus and Staglin. As Britt told us, “Cabernet bottlings from this estate reach $125…easily.”
When we pressed her for details about the source, Britt’s lips were sealed by a lengthy non-disclosure agreement. Nor would she take much credit for her brilliant 2014. “In Rutherford, the weather was ideal for ripening,” Britt told us. “There was almost no pressure from rain or heat on the fruit, which came out perfectly — deep purple colors, thick skins, massive concentration. The wine practically made itself!”
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Of course, we knew better than to be fooled by Britt’s humility. She has more pedigree than many winemakers twice her age, with time spent at Jordan Winery and alongside legends Nicolas Morlet and Philippe Melka. Like those of her mentors, Britt’s Cabernets are deep in color, rich, and intensely concentrated. Yet unlike all too many Napa Valley Cabernets, these are also wines of great class, sleekness, and polish. The 2014 Nichols Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford is hardly an exception. In fact, it may be her best yet. Please check out the Nichols Cabernet Rutherford Napa Valley 2014 for yourself!