Newton The Puzzle 2018
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James
Suckling -
Wine
Enthusiast -
Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker -
Jeb
Dunnuck - Decanter
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Deep ruby color with a purple hue. Notes of black fruit, bay leaf and sage mingle with iodine and oyster shell characteristics, creating an extremely complex and pleasant bouquet. Wonderful now, but can age for another two decades.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Dried violets, potpourri, pine, blackcurrants and cloves on the nose. Ash, too. It’s medium-to full-bodied with firm, silky tannins. Layers of juicy blue and purple fruit and flowers. So sleek and refined. Builds on the palate. From organically grown fruit. Try from 2024.
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Wine Enthusiast
This vintage of the producer's classic blend is composed of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc, 8% Merlot and 2% each of Petit Verdot and Malbec. Thick, earthy and herbal, it shows the mountain fruit of both Spring Mountain and Mount Veeder. Bits of sage, tobacco and cedar shine through blackberry and black currant. This structured wine will benefit from cellaring; enjoy from 2028–2038.
Cellar Selection -
Wine Spectator
Lots to like here. This red has bouncy energy from the get-go, with spice-infused raspberry and red currant preserve flavors bouncing along with floral and briar notes. A cassis bush note pervades on the finish. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Composed of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc, 8% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot and 2% Malbec, the 2018 The Puzzle was aged in french oak, 40% new, for 18 months. Each variety was aged separately and blended pre-bottling. Deep garnet-purple colored, it comes barreling out of the glass with vibrant scents of baked black plums, blueberry preserves and blackcurrant cordial, plus nuances of pencil lead, unsmoked cigars, bay leaves and allspice. Medium-bodied, the palate is delicately played and yet has great intensity, supported by soft tannins and just enough freshness, finishing on a savory/dried herbs note.
Rating: 92+ -
Jeb Dunnuck
The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon The Puzzle offers an almost Bordeaux-like style in its darker, spicy fruits and tobacco, cedar, and herbal aromatics. These all flow to a medium to full-bodied wine showing the straight, focused style of the vintage, with building tannins and impressive purity of fruit. Based on a blend of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot, Malbec, and Merlot, it's going to benefit from 2-3 years of bottle age and keep for over a decade.
Rating: 92+ -
Decanter
Mint and strawberry aromas, kirsch, sweet fruit with attractive savoury, herbal notes. Lots of tannic and acidic structure. Persistent aftertaste.
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James
Suckling -
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Spectator -
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Wine
Enthusiast - Decanter
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Enthusiast -
James
Suckling
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James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker
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James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker -
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Enthusiast
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Tasting
Panel -
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Enthusiast
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Robert
Parker
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Robert
Parker
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Robert
Parker -
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Enthusiast
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Robert
Parker
Newton was founded in 1977 by English businessman Peter Newton and his Chinese wife Su Hua. Peter Newton was already renowned as a pioneer of winemaking in the Napa Valley, having founded the Sterling Winery near Calistoga in the 1960s. The Newtons transformed one square mile of rolling hillside in Spring Mountain into one of the Napa Valley’s most prestigious estates, whose wines have graced the official dinners of several US presidents.
The Newton estate encompasses 170 acres of prime Napa Valley terroir, distributed over four separate, wholly owned vineyards: Spring Mountain, Yountville, Mount Veeder and Carneros.
Newton is renowned for producing wines that are uniquely characterful expressions of varietals emblematic of the Napa Valley, notably Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. Working patiently with nature, we are committed to precision viticulture and winemaking techniques yielding wines that are acclaimed for their balance, harmony and full, abundant flavors.
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.