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Items not labeled as Rapid Ship or Pre-arrival may require a transfer from the warehouse to our shipping facility before shipping, which can take 4–6 business days. Learn more on the Shipping Info page.
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Long Term Pre-arrival Definition: Ordering wine directly through us from our supplier partners in Europe in advance of the item’s physical arrival in the US.
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SKU 887226
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The 2018 Caves des Lions is powerful and velvety, a blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon and 36% Cabernet Franc made with free-run juice and aged 28 months in 100% new French oak. It needs plenty of air before unfolding to singular aromas of fresh tobacco leaves and mushroom powder, potpourri and bitter chocolate, shifting from savory fruit to stony mineral notes in the glass over time. The cashmere-textured palate offers youthful Morello cherries and spices, kaleidoscopic and persistent, its flavors lingering long after the last sip is gone.
Of all the New World wine countries, perhaps the one which has demonstrated the most flair for producing high quality wines - using a combination of traditional and forward-thinking contemporary methods - has been the United States of America. For the past couple of centuries, the United States has set about transforming much of its suitable land into vast vineyards, capable of supporting a wide variety of world-class grape varietals which thrive on both the Atlantic and the Pacific coastlines. Of course, we immediately think of sun-drenched California in regards to American wines, with its enormous vineyards responsible for the New World's finest examples of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot based wines, but many other states have taken to viticulture in a big way, with impressive results. Oregon, Washington State and New York have all developed sophisticated and technologically advanced wine cultures of their own, and the output of U.S wineries is increasing each year as more and more people are converted to their produce.
Region
California
California as a wine producing region has grown in size and importance considerably over the past couple of centuries, and today is the proud producer of more than ninety percent of the United States' wines. Indeed, if California was a country, it would be the fourth largest producer of wine in the world, with a vast range of vineyards covering almost half a million acres. The secret to California's success as a wine region has a lot to do with the high quality of its soils, and the fact that it has an extensive Pacific coastline which perfectly tempers the blazing sunshine it experiences all year round. The winds coming off the ocean cool the vines, and the natural valleys and mountainsides which make up most of the state's wine regions make for ideal areas in which to cultivate a variety of high quality grapes.
Appellation
San Luis Obispo
WA98pts
Wine Advocate
The 2018 Caves des Lions is powerful and velvety, a blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon and 36% Cabernet Franc made with free-run juice and aged 28 months in 100% new French oak. It needs plenty of air before unfolding to singular aromas of fresh tobacco leaves and mushroom powder, potpourri and bitter chocolate, shifting from savory fruit to stony mineral notes in the glass over time. The cashmere-textured palate offers youthful Morello cherries and spices, kaleidoscopic and persistent, its flavors lingering long after the last sip is gone.
JD97pts
Jeb Dunnuck
Gorgeous black fruits, chocolate, tobacco, iron, and spicy oak define the 2018 Caves Des Lions, a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Cabernet Franc brought up all in new French oak. Concentrated, full-bodied, flawlessly balanced, and elegant, it has a focused, straight, elegant texture, plenty of structure, and a great finish. It's going to benefit from 2-3 years of bottle age, if not more, and keep for two decades.
JS96pts
James Suckling
Extremely perfumed and bright with blackberry and blueberry character. Some dried tobacco, too. Full-bodied, tight and focused with savory flavor. Soft, fine tannins. Seaweed and soya to the dark-fruit flavors. Ripe fruit in the center palate. Drinkable now, but better in three or four years with bottle age. 60% cabernet sauvignon and 40% cabernet franc.
Winery Notes
A stunning marriage of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. One cannot but be taken by the über-dark color of this wine. Yet when the first sip is taken, an unexpected profile emerges from the glass with elegance and freshness accompanied by a wealth of minerality. The nose explodes with aromas of cassis, cured meats, coffee, licorice, dark chocolate and spice. This full-bodied and flawlessly balanced wine will keep you thinking for a long time with a finish that does not stop.
