2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Sleeping Lady Vineyard
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Tasting notes
The perfumed nose of the 2019 Ad Vivum is glorious. It has such flair and depth and spans the aromatic spectrum from bright red berry fruit, to blackberry, sweeter purple ripe plum, violets and savoury spice tones. For winemaker Chris Phelps, the picking date of this single-site bottling from the Sleeping Lady vineyard is the most important day in the diary and this 2019 has just the right balance of vibrant, pure fruit flavours with no jammy-ness, vibrant natural acidity and so much savoury depth. It has a lovely stony, mineral graphite note that gives the wine a beautiful underlying frame as the perfumed fruit tones float to the top of the palate. It captures the seductive tannins that typify the best 2019s, which has proven to be such an outstanding vintage for Napa. This is certainly one of the top wines of the vintage
Critic scores
Average Score
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
Dark, winey and a bit of a throwback, this rock-solid Cabernet offers a nice deep well of dark currant and boysenberry reduction notes mixed with warm paving stone, tobacco and freshly plowed humus for a rock-steady baseline, while violet and sweet bay leaf details add nuance in the background. A well-grounded version, with cut and drive that bodes well for cellaring. Best from 2025 through 2040. 350 cases made.
Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon bursts with open-knit, expressive scents of black cherry compote, warm cassis, and cinnamon toast with nuances of clove oil, roses, and dark chocolate. The full-bodied palate is rich, plush, seamless, layered, long, and decadent.
A gorgeous wine from Chris Phelps, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Sleeping Lady Vineyard sports a dense purple hue as well as awesome aromatics of cassis, violets, flowers, and spicy oak. It’s young and unevolved, with medium to full-bodied richness, silky tannins, flawless balance, and a great finish. It ranks with the finest wines I’ve tasted from this vineyard. All Cabernet aged 20 months in 70% new French oak, it has two decades or more of prime drinking ahead of it.
About the producer
Ad Vivum is a tiny Napa project from winemaker Chris Phelps, previously of Dominus and Caymus. Created in 2007, Phelps makes one wine, exclusively from two blocks in the Sleeping Lady vineyard, the southernmost site in Yountville.