Inglenook Rubicon 2015

Since its inaugural vintage in 1978, Rubicon has been Inglenook Estate's premier red wine, reflecting the soul of the property and expressing Francis Coppola's wish to create a Bordeaux-styled grand wine, that is, "a wine that can please contemporary taste, but with a historical aspect [that defines] our vineyards at their zenith."

Ideal harvest conditions endowed the 2016 Rubicon with the three elements associated with a truly great wine from the Rutherford appellation: complexity, balance, and elegance. The aromas are intense and focused with top notes of creamy, sweet vanilla, and black licorice wound around a core of exquisitely ripe black cherry and crème de cassis. This refinement extends directly to the palate, where the wine is both broad and deep with sensuous, silky tannins. Supremely balanced in terms of both opulence and complexity, ripe black fruits and an ultra-smooth texture provide an impressive crescendo to a very long finish.

96 Points - James Suckling    Blackberry, blueberry, fresh mushroom and Spanish-cedar aromas. Full body and silky tannins with a lovely high tone of chocolate, currants and berries. Range: 95-96

95 Points - Wine Enthusiast    From the esteemed producer's gorgeous estate, including 3% Merlot, this is impressive and structured—a leathery, viscous and concentrated expression of a great site in an intense vintage. Gunpowder, oak and black-cherry compote form around brightly captured acidity and a lasting fistful of baking spice that lingers and softens the finish. Editors' Choice

95+ Points - Jeb Dunnuck    A blend of 97% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Merlot, the 2015 Rubicon is slightly deeper in color than the 2014 and offers a deeper, more concentrated, yet slightly compact style that's common in this vintage. Blackcurrants, scorched earth, cedary spice, leafy herbs and licorice all flow to a ripe, beautifully concentrated, deep wine that needs 5-7 years of cellaring and will make for incredible drinking over the following 15+ years. Rating: 95+

94 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate    A blend of 97% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Merlot, the medium to deep garnet-purple colored 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Rubicon bursts out of the glass with exuberant Chinese five spice, baked plums and crème de cassis notes with suggestions of sandalwood, dried mulberries, kirsch and menthol plus a touch of cedar chest. Medium to full-bodied, it fills the palate with loads of spicy flavors and fantastic freshness, framed by chewy tannins and finishing on a lingering earthy note.

92 Points - Wine Spectator    This has an alluring beam of creamed raspberry and boysenberry fruit rolling through, laced with warmed red licorice, toasted vanilla and cedar hints. Has weight but comes off as stylish in the end. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Drink now through 2030.