Inglenook Rubicon (1.5 Liter Magnum) 2012
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Blend: 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Petit Verdot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 1% Merlot
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Rubicon, which used to be a proprietary blend and had a somewhat rustic, Italian personality, has now been put under the Inglenook Vineyard designation. Where the Cabernet Sauvignon was a blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 12% Cabernet Franc and 3% Merlot, the Rubicon has abandoned any Italian varietals in favor of a blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Petit Verdot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 1% Merlot. I think it’s safe to say this is potentially the best Rubicon made to date. It’s not to denigrate other vintages, but there is a finesse and elegance combined with great richness and an avoidance of any rusticity that plagued some of the other vintages – which is to be admired. At three times the price, it’s not three times the wine of the Cask Cabernet Sauvignon. It possesses a dense purple color, beautiful, sweet crème de cassis notes with a floral underpinning. I don’t see any of the Rutherford dust, per se, but there is an undertone of earthiness. The wine is full-bodied, rich, potentially complex and certainly capable of lasting 20 to 30 or more years. This is a great young Rubicon that will have its peak in 5-7 years and last 25-30.
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James Suckling
The aromas of tar, spice, black currant, blueberry and cedar follow through to a full body with ultra-polished tannins and pointed flavors. Exceptional balance and finesse. Better in 2019 but already gorgeous.
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Wine & Spirits
Philippe Bascuales worked for two decades with Paul Pontallier at Château Margaux before coming to Inglenook in 2011 (since Pontallier passed away this past spring, Bascuales has returned to Château Margaux, and is now directing both the Bordeaux property and this Rutherford estate). The pace at which he has transformed the wines is nothing less than astonishing, as if the force of this great Napa Valley site had been waiting to be unleashed. It’s not that the wines were troubled in recent vintages; more that they followed the contemporary Napa Valley story of quality being the pinnacle achievement. The 2008, for example, was “sweet, firm and juicy,” with tannins that cushioned the fruit, earning 93 points when I tasted it for the magazine. Bascaules has begun to bring back the voice of the property, a collection of vineyards in the western benchlands of Rutherford, reassembled by Francis Ford Coppola in the pattern of Gustave Niebaum’s original estate. This is the kind of land that made Napa Valley famous. And this is the kind of wine I want to drink. It has the freshness of ripe cabernet sauvignon, with none of the darker, dimpled tones of hyperripe fruit, presenting a delicate red berry scent and the gracious refinement of Rutherford tannins. Some of our tasters reacted to the new oak on the wine, the touch of creaminess French oak brings to the texture, even as they admitted that it was handled with restraint and that the wine showed some tension. The oak is not an issue for me, as the youthful fruit sings through any vessel used to age it, with the message of great vintages to come.
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A decade later, Francis Ford Coppola purchased 1,500 acres of this historic property and revived Captain Niebaum's fine winemaking tradition. In 1995, Niebaum-Coppola acquired the remainder of the property and restored the Inglenook Estate to its original dimensions.
Undoubtedly proving its merit over and over, Napa Valley is a now a leading force in the world of prestigious red wine regions. Though Cabernet Sauvignon dominates Napa Valley, other red varieties certainly thrive here. Important but often overlooked include Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties well-regarded on their own as well as for their blending capacities. Very old vine Zinfandel represents an important historical stronghold for the region and Pinot noir is produced in the cooler southern parts, close to the San Pablo Bay.
Perfectly situated running north to south, the valley acts as a corridor, pulling cool, moist air up from the San Pablo Bay in the evenings during the hot days of the growing season, which leads to even and slow grape ripening. Furthermore the valley claims over 100 soil variations including layers of volcanic, gravel, sand and silt—a combination excellent for world-class red wine production.