“You have to go wholeheartedly into anything in order to achieve anything worth having.” Frank Lloyd Wright captures the all-in spirit of Linked Vineyards! Every year they dive in with energy and excitement for a new vintage, and every year they learn more about the vineyard, about farming, about the wine. This year, the vineyard taught Drew a little lesson about hillside farming and gravity, when on the first spray of the season he rolled his equipment! Insert many swear words at high volume here. Modified plans and help from friends (part of those ever important “links” that make Linked Vineyards special) put the farming back on track.
The season started warm, quickly bringing vines out of dormancy, and then just as quickly got cool and wet during flowering. This set the stage for a low yielding vintage. Small berries and loose clusters developed through a mild summer and alternately hot and cool fall, which led to intensely concentrated flavors and a full-bodied wine. The 2015 Linked Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon has a mineral richness and depth of complexity consistent with previous vintages. This wine shows raw power in the glass. Dark cassis, ripe plum and black cherry fruit are welded to tobacco and cola, and it ripples with muscular tannins. It has an exceptionally long finish and has been proclaimed “dangerously drinkable!”
126 Cases Produced
92 POINTS This opaque and very dark ruby colored Cabernet Sauvignon from Linked Vineyards opens with fragrant red plum and juniper bouquet with a hint of cinnamon. On the palate, this wine is full bodied, nicely balanced and smooth. The flavor profile is a blend of black currant, black cherry and 85% cocoa dark chocolate. I also detected notes of mild sloe gin and hints of blueberry and oak mixed in as well. The finish is dry with dusty tannins that build-up and linger for quite some time. This Cab benefited from decanting. I would pair it with a Roy's rib roast. Enjoy!
- Ken's Wine Guide, March 2020