96 Points Jeb Dunnuck:
The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon (97% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Cabernet Franc) reveals a vivid purple/ruby color to go with a young, unevolved bouquet of pure cassis, spicy oak, chocolate, and tobacco. Full-bodied on the palate, it has remarkable tannins, a great mid-palate, and a rare mix of richness and elegance. It needs 4-5 years of bottle age to develop additional complexity, but it has incredible potential and is one head-turning Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon.
94 Points Wine & Spirits
Col Solare’s 2018 cabernet seems like a master class in taming the Red Mountain beast. It’s a big, powerful wine: Smelling it is like stepping up to an edifice, but what may impress you most is its savor and smoky complexity. If you can imagine grilled blueberries, that’s the idea. The flavors are heady, dark and concentrated, with a formidable oak component, and yet the wine feels like it’s on tiptoe, the intensity on a small scale. It needs years in the cellar.
93 Points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Deep ruby colored at its core, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon possesses all of the great expressions worthy of representing Col Solare. Dusty notions of sticky, resinous flowers, crème de cassis, redcurrants, dark plum skin, black raspberry and bitter dark chocolate sway with elements of juicy tobacco and luxurious baking spices. Medium to full-bodied, the wine offers impeccable balance with an elongated palate with flavors of blackberry skin, black cherry and dusty roses, fine-grained tannins and succulent acidity. The wine concludes with a long, complex finish that will have no problem lasting for 20 years.
93 Points James Suckling:
A full-bodied red with aromas of black fruit, dried violets, bitter chocolate, cedar and slate. Concentrated and intense with firm, polished tannins. Firm and compact with mineral undertones on the finish.
Winemaker Notes
Aromas of black cherry, currants, and spice blend with subtle notes of dark chocolate and cola. Tannins are rich and refined on the finish, a characteristic of Red Mountain fruit, with flavors of berries, black fruit and cocoa.