Groth, Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, Oakville, California, 2018

Vault Wine: This wine is stored in our vault.

About the Producer
Groth Vineyards & Winery is a family-owned company with deep roots in the Oakville AVA, home to Napa Valley’s largest concentration of top Cabernet Sauvignon producers. 

It didn’t take the Groth family long to know that in buying the Oakville Estate, they had acquired a special property. The first recognition that immediately put Groth on the map and confirmed their credentials was when Robert Parker of the Wine Advocate gave the Groth 1985 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon the distinction of being California’s first perfect 100-point wine. This sparked feverish demand for the wine.

The Groth family’s commitment to quality continues to draw recognition. Groth wines have been ranked on Wine Spectator’s prestigious Top 100 Wines list eight times in the winery’s history, most recently in 2019, when the 2016 Reserve Cabernet was No. 4.

Sustainability
At Groth, we believe farming the land the right way is not only optimal for the grapes, it is the right way to do things. We were proud to achieve Napa Green and Fish Friendly Farming Certification in 2014. We farm sustainably, taking into consideration the impact we have on the environment surrounding us and the health of the entire Napa Valley watershed.

Grape / Blend
Cabernet Sauvignon

Origin
Napa Valley, California

Winemaker's Tasting Notes
From a vintage James Molesworth of Wine Spectator has called “a new benchmark for Napa Cabernet,” our flagship Cabernet Sauvignon represents the finest lots from the Reserve Vineyard, a 28-acre band on the Groth family’s Oakville Estate. This site’s unique soil profile and ideal climate combine to provide the ultimate expression of Oakville — elegant and age-worthy wines from one of the world’s most remarkable Cabernet-growing regions.

Purple-ruby in color, this wine is dark and rich even to the eye. A plethora of aromatics greet you from the glass, beginning with blueberry and black currant, and leading to cinnamon, mocha, lavender and clove. The final aromatics to reveal themselves are cigar box and wet gravel. When tasting the wine, the first impression is the fine tannin and balanced acid, which then leads to boysenberry, blackberry and ripe plum skin. The finish is seamless and smooth — the hallmark of a Groth Reserve Cabernet.

96 Points - Vinous
The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve is sourced from choice blocks on the Groth family's Oakville property. A gorgeous, classically built wine, the Reserve is just fabulous today. Dark red-toned fruit, cedar, spice and mocha lend considerable energy as the 2018 gradually opens in the glass. I would be in no rush here.

96 Points - Wine Spectator
This has the vivid, driven cassis, boysenberry and blackberry fruit of the vintage, but it's well-harnessed, with streaks of racy anise, alder and sweet bay leaf providing focus and precision. There's a long echo of iron and savory through the finish as the fruit lingers, leaving a mouthwatering feel. Understated in style compared with its colleagues, but no less complex. Best from 2022 through 2038. 2,400 cases made.

94 Points - James Suckling
Aromas of ripe blackberries, blueberries, plums, earth, lavender and bark. It’s medium-to full-bodied with fine-grained tannins and fresh acidity. Balanced and juicy with a caressing texture and a bright core of spiced fruit. Elegant. Drink from 2023.

93 Points - Decanter
Reserved on the nose at first, but unsurprisingly gives off a more broad, black, charred character than the entry Cabernet. Luscious on the palate, retracting into a ghostly, nuanced finish. Should come into its own after a few years and be a delicious, ageworthy Oakville Cabernet. Drinking Window 2024 - 2037.

Product size: 750ml