SOLD OUT! In a relatively short period of time, Dane Estates has established itself as one of Napa Valley's elite Cabernet Sauvignon producers. New to the North Carolina market, I seized the day and bought my distributor out of the estate's 2015 Vaso Cabernet Sauvignon.
There is a ton to like about this super classy and majestic Napa Cab. With seven years of "bottle conditioning" on this one, it is drinking incredibly well right now, and it will continue to offer up the goods for at least another five years.
2015 Dana Estates 'Vaso' Cabernet Sauvignon
Compelling and complex Cabernet from one of Napa's newest all-stars.
SOLD OUT
Vaso Cabernet Sauvignon is the cheapest way to get Dana Estates Cab in your glass. This winery is super hot right now, and they sell almost all of their wine(s) through their mailing list. Over the past decade, the winery has risen to "blue chip" status, and the estate's single vineyard wines consistently score 95-100 points and fetch $500 to $800 per bottle!
Guess what? The grapes that go into Vaso Cab come from these same sites. I'm not exaggerating at all folks. The main component of this wine comes from the Hershey Vineyard, a sun-soaked site on Howell Mountain. This structured mountain fruit is balanced by lusher valley floor fruit sourced from the winery's estate vineyards in Rutherford and Saint Helena.
I absolutely love the way the 2015 Napa Cabs are drinking right now, and this wine showcases the virtues of that hot and dry vintage. In peak form right now, this will continue to deliver the goods for another 5 to 10 years. Aromatically complex and possessing soft and tender tannins, this really captures the variety of terroir components that go into this gorgeous Cabernet-based blend.
The 2015 Vaso is a blend of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot, 3% Malbec, and 1% Cabernet Franc aged for 20 months in French oak. Supple yet structured, this offers up quite a range of delectable aromas and flavors. Ripe currant, blackberry, and plum fruit notes lead the charge here, but with 15-30 minutes of breathe time, more complex nuances of sage, tobacco, dark chocolate, and spice box develop. Lush and approachable now, it will be hard for me to keep my hands off of this one.
I'll wrap this up. This stuff is fantastic and if you love classy Napa Cabs, act fast. I've got a lot of Napa Cab lovers amongst my clientele, and I bet you this wine will be sold out in a matter of 24 to 48 hours.
Josh Spurling
Owner, Operator, Wine Monger
Table Wine Asheville