Mission Codename The Original
Limited Quantity Alert: Today’s Joseph Phelps Vineyards 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon is yours - if you’re fast enough. Quantity is very limited.
Celebrate springtime with us today, and grab some of today’s incredible wine while you can.
Our tasting panel was excited to try this wine, but none of us was ready for just how solidly excellent the wine is. We were all blown away. This wine certainly lives up to its reputation.
This iconic Napa Cab is lush, sweet and full on the nose, with gorgeous aromas of blackberry, cassis, black cherry jam, smoky blueberry, pencil shavings, cigar box, dried herbs, sweet spice and black licorice.
This wine dazzles the palate with bold, reduced black fruits, spice, herbs and tobacco. Bold blackberry, cassis, black cherry and plum meld with spice box, sweet tobacco leaf, dried fall leaves, dried earth, graphite, dried meats, subtle dried herbs and anise.
Drink now or hold for a decade or longer.
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What the wine press has to say:
“A beautiful, layered wine, the 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon wraps around the palate with gorgeous depth. Radiant, expressive and nuanced, the 2012 captures the essence of the year in its generous, inviting personality. Soft, silky tannins frame the voluptuous finish.” - 93 points - Antonio Galloni’s Vinous, Nov. 2013
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“A solid red with currants, berries and hints of licorice and spice. Full body, firm tannins and a long, long finish. Shows length and beauty.” - 92 points - James Suckling (7/2015)
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“Bright, deep ruby. Serious aromas of blueberry, licorice and menthol. Shows very good sweetness and density to the black fruit and curry powder flavors. Still tightly wound but the tannins are nicely integrated, showing none of the harsh edge of the 2011 version. Finishes with sneaky length.” - 91 points - Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar
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Cellar Selection “Rich and concentrated in red cherry, cigar and plum, this demurely approachable and enjoyable wine has the legs to age. Structured and tightly drawn, it holds a tannic overbite that eases in the glass. Cellar through 2017. - 91 points - Wine Enthusiast (9/2015)
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“This venerable winery continues to turn out a bevy of impressive wines in both 2012 and 2013. The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon, which comes from holdings throughout the valley, is a blend of 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot and tiny quantities of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc.
In what was a generous vintage, yields were surprisingly modest at 2.5 tons of fruit per acre.
The wine exhibits a deep ruby/purple color along with sweet, smoky blackcurrant, unsmoked cigar tobacco and forest floor characteristics. This medium-bodied, elegant, rich wine can be drunk now or cellared for 15+ years.” - Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate (10/2014)
What the Winery Says
2012 Cabernet Sauvignon
- Winemaker
- Ashley Hepworth
- Varietal
- Cabernet Sauvignon
- Composition
- 91% Cabernet Sauvignon
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- 6% Merlot
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- 1% Petit Verdot
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- 1% Malbec
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- 1% Cabernet Franc
- Vintage
- 2012
- Appellation
- Napa Valley, St. Helena
- Vineyards
- 100% estate-grown Napa Valley vineyards
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- 29% Spring Valley Home Ranch in St. Helena
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- 27% Suscol in South Napa
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- 16% Stags Leap District
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- 15% Yountville in Oak Knoll District
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- 13% Banca Dorada in Rutherford.
- Abv
- 14.2%
- Aging
- 18 months
- Barrels
- 40% new French and American oak (60% two-year-old French and American oak barrels before bottling in June, 2014)
- Harvest Date
- October 6-29, 2012