Ulysses Napa Valley Estate Bottled Red Wine 2015 750ML
Ulysses Napa Valley Estate Bottled Red Wine 2015
Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley, California
Notes from the Winemaker
Offering tremendous opulence, Ulysses 2015 marries lavender and sage in voluptuous layers of blond tobacco and blue plum. A wine
of great potential.
VINTAGE SUMMARY
2015 saw a wet winter (24.26”) with some particularly heavy rains in December. These rains replenished the soils’ water reserve. The very dry spring induced moderate shoot growth. Early May temperatures cooled down suddenly affecting the bloom which reduced the size and number of berries per cluster.
Reviews and Accolades
96 Points/James Suckling
Aromas of dark fruit, such as blackberries and black olives, as well as black tea and tanned leather. Raspberries and lemon spices, too. Full-bodied, very tight and polished with beautiful tannins and a weave of fruit and acidity to beautifully buttress the whole wine. Balanced and bright for the vintage. Drink in 2020 and onwards.
95 Points/Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon remains relatively primary, with cedar and vanilla notes atop cherry and cassis. Medium to full-bodied, it's smooth, rich and supple, concentrated but finessed, finishing long and silky, adding touches of dark chocolate, mocha and licorice. This looks capable of aging for at least another 20 years, but it's far from being inaccessible now.
95 Points/Jeb Dunnuck
Made by the team at Dominus, yet from a slightly different terroir that’s more draining and slightly lesser density plantings, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon is 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot, and 5% Cabernet Franc. It’s a vibrant, elegant wine that has an exotic character in its blue fruits, gravelly minerality, dried herbs, and savory forest floor aromas and flavors. Medium to full-bodied, with good concentration and integrated acidity, it needs 3-5 years of bottle age to come together and is a beautiful wine.
94 Points/Wine Enthusiast
From the Ulysses Vineyard in Oakville, and blended with small amounts of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, this wine impresses in earthy sage, clove, cedar and tobacco. Old World in style, it has appealing aspects of crushed rock and structured tannin, with just a hint of dark chocolate and currant. Best 2025–2030.
93 Points/Wine Spectator
Youthfully tight, featuring a wall of toast and dark earth notes out front, keeping a hefty core of steeped currant, blackberry and fig fruit at bay for now. The long, loamy spine carries the finish, with tobacco and alder notes filling in. Very backward now. This will require patience. Best from 2024 through 2038.