It turns out that 13 is a pretty lucky number! 2013 was drier than normal, but the lack
of rainfall did wonderful things to the Cabernet clusters at Linked Vineyards.
The vines produced their lowest yields ever (a sad/happy development) with
berries that were smaller and bursting with concentrated flavors. Warm days,
cool nights and no heat spikes through harvest allowed the tiny clusters of
intense fruit to build perfect acidity and big, soft tannins.
The 2013 Linked Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon has all the hallmarks of a classic
Cabernet. This vintage is deep, dark, rich and powerful. The color is dense.
The aromas that come out of the glass are opulent. Your nose is filled with
essences of black cherry, cassis and clove. Each sip brings interwoven flavors
of dark and bright fruits, with bursts of ripe blackberry, Santa Rosa plum,
blueberry and currant. These are layered with dusky spice notes of nutmeg and
pink peppercorns, with an undertone of minerality. The finish is sexy, long…
soft… slow! It’s a wine to fall in love with.
A quality of Linked Vineyards Cabernet has been its ability to enjoy at release
or hold on to. This wine, beautiful now, definitely has the depth, power and structure to
cellar for a long time!
97 POINTS "Surprise" find of the 70 lots presented at the Sonoma County Barrel Auction among the big name hitters. This wine was rated FIRST in Cabernet's next to Pride Mountain. 18 Cabernet Sauvignon's / Bordeaux Blends were tasting from top producers throughout the county. "How, by the way, did a winery obtain the right to show, given a limit of 70 lots? Sonoma chose a panel of six well known master sommeliers to judge all entries and cut it down to seventy."
- Monty Preiser, The Preiser Key, May 2015
93 POINTS From a vineyard at the same elevation as Peter Michael’s Les Pavots and made from Cabernet clone 337, this wine offers notes of sandalwood, blackberry, licorice and truffle as well as some forest floor and underbrush. It’s is full-bodied, opulent, sexy and best drunk over the next 12-15 years.
- Robert Parker, eRobertParker.com, The Wine Advocate, December 2015
93 POINTS It doesn’t surprise me that the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon is the pick of the trio. Deeper than the 2012, with more structure but fabulously dense blackberry and cassis fruit as well as hints of charcoal embers and incense, this opaque purple-colored wine is full-bodied, rich, concentrated and set for 15-20 years of drinkability.
The vineyards of this small producer in Knights Valley sit at an 1,100-foot elevation and are composed of the famous aiken red soils over volcanic ash, which is a terroir well-suited for Cabernet Sauvignon. I tasted their three vintages, which certainly merit attention.
- Robert Parker, eRobertParker.com, The Wine Advocate, October 2016