Inglenook, Rubicon, Rutherford

Napa Trip; 3/7/2026-3/14/2026 (Napa, CA) : Very dark red minus color. Drank a glass over an hour in the Athenaeum Room at Inglenook. CS97. M2, PV1. Severe drought year, small yield, small berries. Riper berries, dark chocolate, blue fruits, pretty dried spice, dired woodsy tones, long. Very good. 93+ to 94pts. Flight of the '11, '13, '15, and '22.

2015 vintage

Black fruit, cedar, tobacco, chocolate, cassis, smoky oak

2015 vintage

Beautiful bottle. From the expressive and deep bouquet to the powerful and refined flavors on the palate, this bottle is drinking in what feels like peak form right now. Great balance of red and dark fruit, paired with soft tannins that open up to subtle minerality, makes this bottle check off basically every box for me. If you want higher fruit expression, you can let this sit even longer, but for my tastes, this nailed it right on the money …

2015 vintage

Black berries and black cherries on the nose. Not overly acidic and tannins are still there. It is a beautiful wine!!

2012 vintage

A bit oxidative with a slight stewed fruit component. Good body and excellent balance, but I suggest drinking this vintage sooner rather than later. Probably vintage related after the difficult 2011 year followed by the warm 2012 conditions.

2012 vintage

So delightful and sad that I only have one bottle. Beautiful bold wine. Chocolate and tobacco on the nose. A mouth feel that is heavenly.

2009 vintage

Maybe I just got a bad bottle, but I am so sick of constantly tasting 10 year-old Napa cabs that are oxidized or prune tasting, and this was no exception. There is no way if I was tasting this for the first time I would ever order it again, and I’ve had many bottles older than this that were perfectly fine, but in my experience, this is starting to be a trend, and it is very, very annoying. It’s not …

2015 vintage

Cassis, dark Berries. Dark Ruby color. Beautiful legs. Just the right acidity for my Grilled 1,5 in thick Ribeye.

2020 vintage

Good

2020 vintage

A Journey Through Napa; 5/18/2025-5/20/2025 (Napa Valley) : Tasted at the Inglenook Estate in a library tasting. Best wine at Inglenook. I thought it was really good but a step below the Greer's that I had earlier in the day.

2012 vintage

Very dark red/purple color. PNP, drank 2 glasses over 2 hours. Lots of fruit and not so much in the way of nuance on today's bottle. Blackberry, black currants, plenty of toasted oak, full bodied, graphite, balanced. More youthful than previous bottles.

2015 vintage

Очень МОЩНОЕ ! И яркое !!!

2015 vintage

One hour double decant, followed by a 2+ hour slow ox. Dark intense ruby color. Spiced plum, toasted pecan, white apricot, and blackberry. Smooth, dry palate, with subtly persistent acidity. Soft tannins on the medium finish. The back end weakness was the only not so great aspect of this otherwise very nice bottle. Enjoyed at supper club with good friends on Valentine’s Day.

2015 vintage

Very dark red color. PNP, drank a couple glasses over 2 hours. Lots of leather and a touch of funk, cool dark fruits, cassis, dark raspberry, cool menthol on the nose. The palate is earthy, red cherry, casis, boysenberry, subtle wood, leather, pencil shavings, sleek texture and fine dusty tannins, understated in a lovely, elegant way. Excellent. This should just keep improving - glad to have more.

2015 vintage

Deep ruby in color with a reddish rim. Fruity nose with black fruits, chocolates, cedar, licorice, light vanilla, tobacco and peppercorn. Full-bodied with medium acidity and long legs. Dry and fruit forward on the palate with black currants, cooked plums, cedar, peppercorn, earth, herbs, chocolates, tobacco leaf and black tea. Long finish with fine grained tannins and cherries. This is a delicious Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley. Elegant and rich. Complex and entertaining. Fruit forward and easy drinking. This 13 …

2012 vintage

Dark in colour, hardly any discolouration. Eucalyptus, liquorice, dark berries, dark chocolate, spices on the nose. Fresh and vibrant on the palate. Ripe, but by no means overripe fruit, good structure, well-integrated tannins. Nice minerality towards the long finish. Really good. Drink or keep. 93-95

2013 vintage

Very dark red color. PNP, drank a glass over 90 minutes. Nice deep sultry, dark fruit, cassis, dark berry, sweet creme de cassis, pencil, sultry, gravel, dusty tannins, elegant and it gets better over an hour.

2009 vintage

Wonderful wine. Drink now or can hold for many years

2015 vintage

Truffle. Settled into chocolate notes.

2013 vintage

Truffle. Very nice balance of acidity fruit and not overpowering tannins. Love this.

2015 vintage

Needs a day open to be ready

2013 vintage

This is drinking very well after a 3 hour decant. Black cherries, coffee, earthy, a touch of green. Lots of acid and sticky tannins. This has a long life ahead. But hard not to open a second bottle of this tonight!

2013 vintage

Tasted double blind. This came across a very young, a bit too ripe, far to intense and slightly simple. Not bad, but without any exceptionalism. TN: Elegant fine blue fruit, ripe but not too ripe on the nose. A bit riper on the expressive palate, some blue fruit, some forest berries. Still quite primary. All in an elegant frame and with a silky texture but far too intense. Decanting: Not decanted, I would give it at least two hours.

2012 vintage

I bought a split from the winery to taste how the wine was developing, as this is my daughter’s birth year and I have a case set aside. Opened at Farmstead with a steak frites. Wine is developing very novelty, but needs 5-10 years out of the half bottle, I am sure much more out of the 750ml. Tannins are soft but structured, 40+ second finish, with the fruit reducing noticeably around 33 seconds. Classic RUTHERFORD, dark cherry and red …

2011 vintage

Actually a nice wine but I think it has a smidge of TCA at least on the nose. Nonetheless, drinks well with dark cherry flavors and a long ripe finish. Drink or Hold.

2009 vintage

Very dark red/purple color. PNP, drank a glass over an hour. Opened for Father's Day. Very pretty, sweet tobacco leaf, dried earth, raspberry, high toned spice, very dusty, full bodied, polished and suave. 93+ to 94pts.

2011 vintage

13.8% ABV. Dark ruby colour. Black currant, cherry, bitter chocolate, light leather, light tobacco, spices, a hint of mint, and balsamic notes, with good acidity, chocolaty tannin, and very good length of the lightly cocoa-bitter finish. Medium- to full-bodied, smoothly textured, and incredibly balanced. The wine kept developing as time passed and started to show best after three hours of aeration. The balance really stood out. A great Cabernet that drinks well. Still, you can get an equally satisfying experience …

2013 vintage

I knew it was young, but still tightly wound. Needs at least five more years in the bottle. A little acidic, but will round out with time.

2020 vintage

It seemed closed. Some dark fruit, graphite and earthy characteristics but everything seemed to fall off on the finish.

2012 vintage

I’m disappointed that I didn’t decant this fine Cab. And I hope to get my hands on more. Earthy, spicy with a touch of smoke. This wine offers up ripe berries and currants. A 45 second finish. It’s still young.

2015 vintage

Black fruit, cedar, herbal notes, cocoa, finishes balanced

2020 vintage

Miller brought this. It was decanted for about 2-3 hours and consumed mostly after dinner. Excellent.

2015 vintage

Wine paired great with steak after 1 hour decant. Fruit muted at onset but then black fruit came through, along with wet cement, graphite and light cocoa notes. 30 second plus finish and watch out for sediment

2009 vintage

See same day notes

2009 vintage

This '15 'Rubicon' by Inglenook was tasted side by side blind with the '18 at the winery. A huge thanks for them to set this up as our finale! The 2015 seemed a bit more cohesive and I believe a lot of this comes from the bottle age. Tasting notes of dusty black cherry, white mushroom, smoked cedar, milk chocolate dusting. The 2018 had more plum than cherry, more espresso than cocoa, and some fresh pipe tobacco. Acid seemed seemed …

2015 vintage

this wine was drank following a 2005 Bordeaux, otherwise it probably would have scored higher, and it wasn't decanted long enough (maybe 30 minutes).

2013 vintage

A mouthful of plum and blackberry. Complimented by pepper, incense and bitter chocolate. Excellent in a generic Napa sort of way, but perhaps not extra special.

2015 vintage

About 45 min double decanted. Not too much going on, rather unidirectional, short finish, a total lay down.

2013 vintage

V prvom rade musím povedať, že víno je dobré až výborne. Je tam všetko čo tam má byť, ale nudné. Ničím má neupútalo, porovnávane s Daou Soul of a Lion 2018 a Altair 2017. Bohužiaľ Rubicon bol posledný.

2015 vintage

Deep burgundy colour, wonderfully slow tears 75% new oak, 20 months ageing Low intensity nose, very young, some perfume and stewed cherries Med body, med- acidity, other notes of tomato leaf and dark tea leaves

2020 vintage

No tears, very complex Better nose than recent vintages, slightly peppery Back and red fruits, stewed tomatoes, Beautiful finish

2015 vintage

100% cab sauvignon, ready to drink 13.8% alcohol Lovely nose, perfect acidity and wonderful complexity

2013 vintage

This is a high quality wine, but too young to fully enjoy at this point. I decanted for 2 hours and it was still wound up tight. This wine is brooding with lots fruit and tannic structure - a wine built for long term aging. This could be a 96+ wine someday, but still too powerful at this stage. This wine is powerful, but balanced and not over concentrated. I have 5 more bottles and can’t wait to try my …

2012 vintage

Black fruit, blue fruit, spice notes, tobacco, leather, candied cherries, tea and herbal notes. Balanced. and delicious A

2013 vintage

Great wine. Decanted bottle and waited 90 mins before first pour. Improved throughout the night after starting. On brand for Inglenook Rubicon. Classic napa style. Starting to show tertiary notes, but plenty of fruit remains. Can’t wait for next bottle.

2013 vintage

I expected more for this price...

2009 vintage

Black fruit, blue fruit, spice, herbal notes, cedar, smokey oak, chocolate, Smokey oak. A+

2013 vintage

An elegant wine, silky, and easy to drink. Black fruit, blue fruit, cassis, chocolate, lite acidity, and leather, finishes smooth. A/A+ (96)

2012 vintage

This is very good but not as compelling as I had expected. This is an elegant wine. Good balance of bramble fruit and hedgerow with fine silky tannins and high acidity. Medium body. Medium length, straightforward. Suggest waiting another 5 years, then good for the next 5 to 10 years.

2015 vintage

A matter of taste 2023 - Day 2 : *** Brief notes from wine fair, primarily for my own memory *** Glass: Stölzle Universal A bit bolder than 2017, but still very fresh, pure fruit, not too much oak, balance, depth and a fruity long finish. Very solid potential. Beautiful 94+

2015 vintage

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Inglenook, Rubicon, Rutherford

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